The Assassin
by ItsJustNae
Summary: Orihime is involved with one of the best assassination organizations in Karakura Town, but when she get tired of dealing with them, and moves on to the organization's rival, she's in way over her head. Orihime is OOC. Rated M for language and violence. R&R Please. :)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** _Uh it's not mine, and that goes for the whole story. :)_

* * *

Orihime sighed in happiness as she stepped into the scalding hot shower. It wasn't everyday this beautiful young lady got free time to do this kind of stuff. She had only been in long enough for 5 minute , ice-cold showers that left her still not feeling satisfied about her hygiene level as of the past few months.

So her boss decided to let her take the next two days off. And that was a luxury that not everyone in her line of business had. She was special because she always finished the job with perfection each time. And it pleased her boss greatly.

The thing that got Orihime , was that the main reason why she was so good , was because her missions were so easy. Okay so , some guy fucked his best friend's bitch. Some girl didn't get an anniversary present from her husband. Some guy didn't have his $500 by his due date. A student at some college wanted her professor dead because he flunked her , which was probably what her dumb ass deserved.

Not that Orihime didn't love her job , but she got tired of killing petty people for the pettiest of reasons. She wanted a real mission with a real adventure. She wanted a mission like all the others had : a kingpin , who had money and men to his disposal. Some gang bangers that like to shoot people and sell drugs right in front of the cops , because the cops are too afraid to do anything about it. She wanted to kill other assassins. She wanted to do more. She wasn't afraid. But her friends on the job though she was too weak and couldn't handle it. She resolved that one day she'd show them. She'd show them all.

But not today because she was on vacation.

After she got out the shower , her phone rang. Wrapping herself in her delicately cotton soft towel , she went into her room to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Orihime it's me , Ichigo."

Ichigo. The only guy on the job she really liked. Others would call it an infatuation , or a one-sided relation , but Orihime found herself daydreaming about this boy for the short time she had worked there. And every time he was near she would get bubbly on the inside , and start babbling like an idiot. And of course Ichigo was way too thick-headed to notice any of the special attention he was receiving from her. No matter how hard she tried.

"Oh hi Ichigo!" Orihime exclaimed with excitement. She really couldn't believe he actually called her. On her cell phone!

"Hey , me and Rukia are on break for lunch , and we were wondering if you'd like to join us? I mean , since you're on vay cay and all."

Orihime looked at her schedule that sat nicely above her desk. She had a spa appointment in an hour , but she was free for the moment.

"Yeah , that sounds great. Where?"

Her mood went down slightly as soon as she heard Rukia's name. Rukia and Ichigo do EVERYTHING together! They ate together , they did dangerous missions together , hell she stayed in his spare bedroom at his apartment. But they swore they're pure and there's nothing going on between them. They're 'just friends'.

"Um , Caesar's ," Ichigo replied casually.

"Okay , I'll be there in five."

"Alright , thanks."

Orihime hung up her phone and walked to her closet to flip through her wardrobe , and after settling on some jeans and a crop-top that said 'hater' , she decided to just throw her hair up in a messy ponytail. I mean it was just Ichigo and Rukia right? They wouldn't care about fancy dressing. Still though , she dabbed her lips with a touch of lip gloss , then smiled at herself in the mirror.

"Let's hurry up and get this over with."

It honestly wasn't often that she got invited to lunch with anyone , one , because she didn't have the time , two , because her schedule was different than everyone else's , and three , she didn't have many friends to begin with. Since her missions were so simple , she had more than everyone else with the more dangerous ones.

She grabbed her car keys , and jet out the door to her baby girl , Ferrari , and after five minutes of speeding on the highway , she reached Caesar's.

* * *

When she entered the restaurant , and waitress automatically greeted her and sent her to the back.

"Ms. Inoue , you've been expected. Mr. Kurosaki and Ms. Kuchiki are waiting."

That's another thing Orihime hated about being respected in the organization's popular hang outs like this. When people talked to her , it was always business-like and creepy. She'd rather have looked for them herself , rather than be escorted like some superior being that was ready to cut the woman's throat open.

"Oh , uh . . . Thanks."

Orihime followed the waitress to the back , where she found Ichigo and Rukia laughing their asses off. She was almost positive that whatever they were laughing at wasn't all that funny.

"Oi! Inoue!" Ichigo stopped laughing and greeted Orihime with that handsome grin of his that always sent Orihime's heart to flutters.

"Hey guys," she said sitting across from the two , who were sitting awfully close together at the round table.

At first , they were all stuck in awkward silence , until Rukia broke it.

"So , are you enjoying your break?" She asked , seeming to feel guilty , as she knew about Orihime's feelings for Ichigo.

"Well , so far I guess , I mean it's nice not to have to kill anyone one for the next two days . . . Eh heh. . . " Orihime smiled nervously and scratched the back of her head.

"Oh , well you're certainly lucky to have a break. Me and Ichigo can't ever seem to catch one unless we're at lunch , or asleep," Rukia said , smiling sadly.  
_'Or fucking,_' Orihime thought , quickly shoved it to the back of her mind.

"Well , this is only my first break , so maybe you guys'll get lucky too," she voiced out loud , enthusiastically.

"Yeah maybe . . Orihime?" Ichigo asked , in a curious tone.

"Yes?" she perked up.

"So you've been here a few months , and no one really knows anything about you , or what you did before you joined us, other than the fact that you're a fashion diva, with a killer spirit. Were you always like, really good at this stuff?"

Orihime winced at his question. He was referring to their meeting on the elevator, and the fact that she was just so damn good! However, she kept her past to herself for a reason , and that wasn't about change. Even if the guy really was just trying to be nice.

"You give me way too much credit , Ichigo," she said , with mock flattery. "But that's personal business that I'd rather not discuss."

"Oh sure," he said waving it off. "We all have our dirty little secrets." He looked at Rukia, and then realized his mistake.

His statement hung in the air , as she looked between him and Rukia , who looked just about ready to beat the living daylights out of him , and it really didn't take long for Orihime to catch on.

"Oh are you two like a thing now?" Orihime asked , bluntly without stammering or shyness.  
Neither said anything for a moment , but they shared a glance and Ichigo spoke up.

"Yeah , we've been a thing for the past two weeks," he said nervously, "but we keep it quiet because . . You know . ."

"Oh , I know , I know," Orihime said , brushing it off , feeling a piece of her torn out. "Your secret's safe with me. And congratulations."

They all knew that relationships between coworkers was strictly forbidden , and if anyone found out they'd both be punished. Especially Rukia. Lord knows what her brother'd do to her.

"Thanks!"

Rukia just sat quietly , seeming relieved that Orihime wasn't as angry as Rukia thought she would be for , 'stealing her man'.  
Just then , the waitress came over and asked for their orders.

"You know what," Orihime said , standing. "I'm not really that hungry anymore. Sorry guys , and again , congrats." she tried not to let her emotions show , but she was struggling.

"Oh no problem , and thanks," Rukia said , suddenly hyped at the fact that she was leaving.  
_'Basic bitch,_' Orihime thought. She , again , had to send that nasty thought away.

"I'll see you guys next time."

And she was gone in a heartbeat. In her car , she allowed her tears to flow freely down her pretty face. Why'd she do that? Rukia knew Orihime had her eyes on Ichigo , yet she had to step in and ruin everything. But she really couldn't be mad. The two always did everything together. Even missions. Orihime never had a chance.

So drying up her tears , she looked up , and in the distance , she found a dark figure with green eyes staring at her , from the roof of the T-Mobile building , three buildings down. Orihime quickly reached into her glove compartment , and pulled out her sniper rifle to aim at the figure. But as soon as her eyes left it , it was gone.

She lowered the rifle , and stared at the spot it was in.

"Maybe it was just my imagination," she said to herself , shaking it off. She knew better than to refer to something as her imagination , but she let it slide. Just this once.

As soon as she started her car , her phone rang.  
'Unknown Caller'  
She cautiously answered it.

"Yes?"

"Ms. Inoue , Captain Soi Fon speaking."

Captain Soi Fon? Boss?! This caught Orihime off guard. She was on vacation. Why would she be calling?

"I'm sorry to inform you that your vacation has been cut short , effective immediately."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Hi this is Nae, and this is actually my first fanfic. I was kinda having trouble uploading, and editing, and ugh! I'm typing the entire story on my Ipod, because of computer trouble, but I'm making it. Yeah so here's chapter 2, enjoy. :)

PS: Thank you, my two reviewers, believe it or not, you guys made my day with this thing. Thanks so much! :)

* * *

"I'm sorry to inform you that your vacation has been cut short , effective immediately."

Orihime pulled up at the former abandoned warehouse , which was now the HQ of Seiretei. Seiretei was made up of 13 departments:  
A command center , stealth operatives , medicinal services , supplies , research and development , laboratories , etc.

Orihime belonged in the the stealth operatives department , and her boss was Soi Fon , a hard bitch to get around. She had short black hair with two long braids that came out the back. She was stuck up and proud , but she had a soft spot for Orihime. Which was really the reason Orihime was so surprised that Soi Fon had cut her vay cay so short. It had to be serious.

Orihime rushed to her boss's office and found Soi Fon standing in front of the window , that faced the ocean.

"Have a seat , Orihime."

She sat quietly in front of the woman's desk and waited anxiously for what the woman had to say. Soi Fon turned away from the window , sat at her desk , and began flipping through some files on it.

"Due to the fact that we don't trust anyone when they first try to apply for our line of business , we do a file on each and every employee , even the ones above us."

She continued to avoid eye contact with Orihime , which was really making Orihime nervous about what this whole situation was about. Orihime already knew this, due to when they first met. So why was she telling her this . . . Unless she finally dug deeper into . .

"And a recent case has come up. With a name that is also found within your history file, which I had to pay through the nose to find. Inoue isn't a common name you know."

She finally stopped flipping through files , and picked one out. She opened it , to see if it was the right one , then handed it to Orihime.

"I know all about your complicated past now , Orihime , and this is a serious mission that I'm putting you on , because it's connected to you , and I believe you can handle it."

Orihime took the file and read it for herself:

**Name** : Inoue , Sagashi  
**Age** : 48  
**Hair / Eye Color** : Black / Silver  
**Occupation** : Drug Dealer  
**Residence** : Karakura Town

Orihime dropped the file , with her hands shaking. There was no way he could possibly be in Karakura Town! And she had no one to come sweep her away and tell her that everything was going to be okay. Sora was dead , and she had backstabbing friends here. Why was he here?

She picked the file back up and read his background and her mission. The man had become a child molester of boys and girls. Just sick. He also did drugs for money , and killed anyone who got in his way. She needed to annihilate him , before he could make another move. Orihime had never been so happy to take a mission in her life. It was the reason she was there in the first place.

"When do I start?" she asked , darkly.

"Now here's the deal , Orihime," Soi Fon broke her off ," I'm sending Rukia with you."

"What?!" Orihime yelled , standing disruptively. "I need to do this alone! This is my past and my mission! I don't need help!"

"It's not that I think you're incapable , I just need someone with you in case things don't go as planned," Soi Fon snapped back." I never send my people out on missions alone unless it's that simple! I rely on you too much to lose you!"

Orihime slammed back down into her chair , and stared out the window , past Soi Fon. This wasn't fair. Her first real mission , and she had to be accompanied by someone who could give two fucks about her. Absolutely wonderful.

"Orihime , you know I believe in you - "

"It's not even about having someone go with me," Orihime cut her off sharply. "It's who. I don't expect you to understand but - never mind. When and where?"

Soi Fon raised an eyebrow , before pulling out yet another file. Soi Fon usually didn't let people talk to he like that , but Orihime was like family to her , so she made an exception in her case. It wasn't out of pity for the girl and her past , but simply because she was indeed special. She wasn't depressed and she never used her past to get sympathy from others. She was always happy , and she always saw the good in people. Which is why Soi Fon thought it was kind of strange that she didn't want to go with Rukia.

"He lives along the river , close to where Ichigo stays. Everything you need is in this file."

Soi Fon handed Orihime the file and sat back in her chair , forming a bridge with her fingers.

"You of all people should know how dangerous this man truly is. I just want you to be careful. This is your first time doing something like this , and I'd really hate to lose you for doing something reckless," Soi Fon paused and considered her next words carefully. "I don't know what's going on with you and Rukia , but don't let it get in the way of priority. Work together and save the argument for later."

Orihime simply nodded and stood , and once Soi Fon waved her dismissal , she left and went home.

* * *

"Hey , are you ready?" Rukia asked as Orihime climbed into Rukia's SUV.

"Yeah , let's hurry up and get this over with please," Orihime replied as Rukia stepped on the gas. She was really acting like nothing ever happened , like she really didn't hurt Orihime's feelings.

"By the way , Soi Fon seemed to have the impression that we have beef," Rukia said hesitantly. "Do we? I mean are you mad at me or something?"  
'Oh she's really playing that game , huh?'

"Oh I don't know Rukia , I've had a crush on this guy since I got here , and then you come around and date him even though you didn't have any interest in him until I did," Orihime said quietly and calmly.

"Excuse me? I've known Ichigo since forever , and I liked him since before you came. You really never had a chance with him to begin with!" Rukia yelled back at Orihime.

"Um , there's really no reason to yell , seriously Rukia. I'm totally over it." '_And you_.'

Rukia made a sharp turn , causing the SUV to roll on two wheels for a moment , then it slammed down and she kept driving.

"Sorry Hime. I really should've told you in the first place. And I really appreciate you not telling Boss."

"Yeah sure whatever," Orihime said waving it off with a smile. She hoped it didn't look too fake. 'The sooner we do this the better.'

They drove for about 5 more minutes in awkward silence , before Rukia pulled up to a house that was actually six houses down from Ichigo's. Rukia and Orihime got out of the car and stood before the house.

"Well this is it," Rukia stated making her way to the neighboring house's roof. Orihime followed close behind. When they reached the roof , Rukia pulled out her sniper rifle and looked for Sagashi Inoue.

"Hey Rukia," Orihime started hesitantly. Rukia put the rifle down and looked at Orihime with those big navy blue eyes that glimmered in the moonlight. Rukia really was beautiful , and Orihime could really see why she never stood a chance with Ichigo.  
"What did Soi Fon tell you about this man?"

"Nothing actually. Just that I needed to go with you on this mission," Rukia shrugged. "Why?"

"No reason . . . But I need to be the one to kill him," Orihime said firmly, holding her hand out for the rifle.

"No offense , Hime , but you're not used to killing these kinds of guys. I am. I have way more experience with his kind than you do and if this gets out of hand , you won't know what to do."

Orihime really didn't want to do this , but she really didn't have much of a choice.

"This man is my father. Give me the rifle."

Rukia's eyes got large as she looked at the house then back at Orihime. She sat back on the roof and put the gun down.

"Oh my goodness . . . Are you serious?"

"Would I lie about that? Seriously Rukia , we don't have time for this. All you need to know , is that I need to be the one to kill him. Give me the rifle."

"Orihime , that's kinda fucked up? Why do you want to kill your dad?" Rukia asked , still in awe.

"Rukia we don't have time for this , just give me the damn rifle!" Orihime yelled , attempting to snatch the rifle herself.

"Shut up , and put your hands behind your heads , and don't move." A masculine voice came from behind them. They did as they were told , and he took their guns. "Now why the hell are you trying to kill me?"


	3. Chapter 3

The Assassin : Chapter 3

Hi I'm back . . I've been M.I.A from my computer and I'm really happy to be back and uploading again . . even though it might be temporary . . Thanks to my readers, reviewers, etc anyway, you guys make me happy :D! I'd be really happy if more people reviewed. :)

* * *

"Shut up , and put your hands behind your heads , and don't move." A masculine voice came from behind them. They did as they were told , and he took their guns. "Now , why the hell are you trying to kill me?"

Neither of them said a word. They also didn't need to turn around to know that he had a gun aimed at one of them , which meant one of them had to put aside their differences to save the other. He yanked Rukia by her hair so she fell onto her back , and aimed the gun at her face.

"I won't ask again. Who the hell are you and why the hell are you trying to kill me?!"

Orihime couldn't move. She just froze. It was just like how he treated her and her mother. He'd beat on her , tell her to go get some alcohol , and while she was gone , he'd rape and beat on Orihime. But she didn't want to go through that again , nor did she ever want Rukia to experience that , no matter how much she disliked the girl.

Orihime jumped up and around and kicked the gun out of Sagashi's hand and when he stumbled back , she caught the gun before it fell and aimed it at him. Rukia looked more surprised than he did. It was obvious that she had way underestimated Orihime and her skill.

"It doesn't matter who we are , or why you're about to die , but just know know you had it coming. I've been waiting for this moment for quite some time now. And just like all those years ago when no one was there to save me from you , there's no one here to save you from me."

Sagashi , panting in fear now , studied Orihime before realization finally hit him.

"Ori . . Orihime? Sweetie?"

Bang! Orihime pulled the trigger , and his body fell lifeless to the roof , his blood running from it and dripping off the edge. She held her arm out with the gun still aimed at him. Her vision filled with hatred for the man. Even though he was dead , she still couldn't let it go. He could die one hundred times over and she'd still never be okay.

She pulled the trigger again. And again. And again. But before she could pull it a fifth time , Rukia grabbed her and pulled her away from the scene. Orihime screamed and squirmed in protest and eventually began sobbing and kicking around , so Rukia had no choice but to knock the girl out.

* * *

"Hello , Ms. Inoue. You probably don't know who I am , but you'd probably want to know that your league isn't very happy with your performance tonight. They say you were way too attached to the situation and are currently thinking about disbanding you and wiping your memory of ever having worked for them. But I must say that I myself was rather impressed by your display. We've been watching you for some time Orihime Inoue and I think it's time you choose the people who appreciate the skills that you have. We would never underestimate you and you wouldn't be treated unfairly as you have been for the past few months. Think about it , we'll be waiting."

* * *

Orihime woke with a start. Was she dreaming? She could've sworn she heard someone in her room. She looked around and found herself in some bed. She sat up and looked around. She heard frantic voices outside the room.

" . . He can't have . ."

" . . Why Inoue?"

Ichigo and Rukia. What the hell happened?

Orihime moved closer to the door so she could hear.

"It was obviously the work of Hogyoku," sais Ichigo.

"Yeah , but they came in Orihime's room. She knows nothing about them. They shouldn't even know about her , as much as Boss keeps her in the dark," Rukia responded.

"I guess it'll all blow over and be okay when they finally decide to erase her memory of us."

"But is that really the right thing to do?" Rukia asked Ichigo. "Seems a little cruel to me."

"Rukia, the girl flipped out on her very first REAL mission. She doesn't belong with us. She can't handle it."

"You know the reason too. She hated the man, he was her father Ichigo! I probably wouldn't have been able to control the situation either."

"I don't know Rukia. She argued on the job, blowing your covers, used a loud ass gun, which made a messy kill, and shot the man more than necessary. Do you know how long it's going to take Seireitei to clean that up?"

Orihime couldn't believe Ichigo was really with this. He wanted her memory erased. He wanted her to forget. Fuck him! He was really against her in this.

Orihime burst out of the room in anger , causing Rukia and Ichigo to jump in surprise.

"Orihime!" they both said in unison. "How are you feeling?" Rukia asked , pretending that conversation never happened.

"Oh I don't know - !"

"Orihime, you should know something," Ichigo said , ignoring her tone. "We think our rival is out to kill you. They snuck into your room last night."  
'So it wasn't a dream . . . '

"Okay what about the whole disbanding me and wiping my memory thing?! Huh?!"

Rukia and Ichigo looked at each other uncomfortably. Rukia then looked at the floor , but Ichigo sighed and looked at Orihime.

"Look , we're trying to keep that from happening. They-"

"Bullshit , Ichigo! I heard enough of your conversation to know on your part that that isn't true!" Orihime snapped at him cutting him off.

Ichigo looked at Rukia , who kept her eyes on the floor. Neither one of them had ever seen her like this. They were used to happy , bubbly Orihime who loved everyone. What changed?

"And just so you know , those people , whoever they are , they aren't out to kill me. As a matter of fact , they want me to join them , and if this is how I'm gonna be treated all the time , I just might consider it!"

With that , she stormed off and out of the house.

* * *

Orihime sat on her sofa , twirling the Hogyoku's business cards in her hand , with a deep frown on her face , contemplating on whether or not she should join them. It really wasn't a bad deal. Stick around with some shady ass bitches with the possibility that she could be brain-wiped , or transfer to a place where her ability would be recognized and she could be treated equally. Her odds were not in the Seireitei's favor. At all.

She stopped spinning the card when her phone rang. She took it out of her back pocket and read the caller ID:  
'Boss : Soi Fon'  
She was just as fake. Agreeing to the memory wipe. She was probably the one who introduced the idea in the first place.  
Orihime presses the ignore button on the screen and threw it against the wall so that it busted. And she knew exactly what that action would lead to.

She jumped off the couch and prepared herself for her house to be raided. Every employee of Seiretei had a chip installed on their phones , and her busting hers meant that she was in a bad mood and just disrespected her employers , or that she just went rogue. In her case , both.

She loaded her favorite Hello Kitty Pistol and set her sniper rifle out the window to keep a watch out. She set the pistol down , and stared through the rifle. Nothing happened for the first 5 minutes , but then , sure enough , Orihime caught a movement on a roof a few blocks down. So predictable.

When that figure got close enough , she could see that it was a member of Stealth Ops.  
She knew someday she might regret this , but now she didn't give a fuck.

Orihime fired the rifle , and it hit its target dead between the eyes. She could hear the reports now in her head:

'Orihime Inoue has gone rogue. She is armed and dangerous. Proceed with caution.'

"I'll show all of them just how weak I am," Orihime murmured darkly to herself.

She saw another movement in the bushes. Bang! It stopped dead, and was drowned in its blood instantly. Then there was another , attempting to cloak itself from her to have the element of surprisw on its side. Bang! It fell from the sky. But of course , Orihime was just an amateur. She could only handle people who weren't going to fight back because they were regular civilians living their everyday lives , pissing others off.

She was focused , and shot down every sign of movement she found , even the dark shadows weren't safe. She was almost positive that there was a bloodbath out there. But in order to keep herself sane , and unattached , was if she never thought of them as people , rather than objects. Targets for practice. And that was a rare ability that few people possessed.

The trees. Bang!  
The bushes. Bang!  
The rooftops. Bang!  
The cars. Bang!

But it seemed as if they'd never stop coming. She fired round after round after round after round , until eventually , she had no rounds. Shit.

Her pursuers seemed to realize this as soon as she had finally stopped firing , and took that opportunity to dash at full speed out in the open toward her home. Orihime pulled out two silencer pistols and waited. She was about to light some ass.

Orihime stood beside her window , out of sight of anyone trying to look in. And as stealthy as they tried , she could still hear them shuffling around in her yard , hissing orders to each other. One of them jumped quierly through her window , not expecting her to be there , and got shot right in the back. Of course no one heard that , because the pistol was silent.

She locked and barricaded the window , then snuck into the hallway. She checked the bathroom , and saw someone in there. She shot them clean in the head. Why the hell was it in the bathroom? She shook her head at that thought and hurried to her living room. She ran behind the couch an held her guns out offensive and defensively. Then the lights cut out , and she found herself covered in red dots. With a heavy sigh , she stood up , dropped her guns , and raised her hands in defeat. And in the darkness , she couldn't see anyone before they stuck her with a tranquilizer.


	4. Chapter 4

The Assassin : Chapter 4

A/N: Hi you guys I'm here with another chapter for my wonderful readers, reviewers, and followers, thank you! =)  
I'm back in school and in the first week, my teachers are giving me hell, but I'm surviving! Happy Labor Day ^.^ !

P.S.: SasusakuIslovelyy: I really appreciate the constructive critism and I'll try to use them to improve my story and I'm really glad you're enjoying the story itself. =)

Also thank you ulquihime7980 for sticking with me from the beginning. =)

* * *

The lights cut out , and she found herself covered in red dots. With a heavy sigh , she stood up , dropped her guns , and raised her hands in defeat. And in the darkness , she couldn't see anyone before they stuck her with a tranquilizer.

* * *

Orihime awoke in some desert, that had bone-dry trees instead of your typical cactus. The sand was also smoother than normal sand, and soon, she felt herself sinking into it slowly.

She struggled and squirmed to try and stand, but some bone-like creatures pulled her back, and yanked her beneath the sand. She struggled, screamed and gasped for air, but a cold pale hand pressed down onto her mouth, preventing her from getting any air.

"Why do you scream, woman? There is no one here to save you."

She was then plunged into ice cold water. She tried to swim to the top, but it was blocked off by ice. She was trapped and going to drown -

A black sack was removed from Orihime's eyes , throwing her into light so bright , she had to squeeze her eyes shut because it hurt.

She needed time to think. What was with the weird dream. What the hell did it mean? It unnerved her since she had never had a dream like that before. Someone then cleared their throat, breaking her from her train of thought.

To Orihime's surprise, she wasn't tied up. Trying to escape would be stupid anyway. The hall outside was probably littered with Stealth Op Soldiers. Assholes.

"You know , this could've gone a lot smoother , but you just had to go and do your own thing."

Soi Fon's voice. Shit.

"All you had to do was answer the phone , and meet me in my office so that we could explain your situation , and what was gonna happen to you."

Orihime looked to her left with her eyes still closed. There was no way in hell she would ever agree to go quietly , even if that did put her in some deep shit.

"But you had to fuck up your mission , threaten to join or clan's enemy , and then disrespect and disconnect yourself from Seireitei. How do you feel right now? Because I hope you feel like shit!"

"Yep that pretty much dumbs it down for you."

Orihime felt a sharp sting go across her face. She knew Soi Fon was hurt more than any thing , but Orihime didn't care; she just refused to put up with the bullshit.

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

Orihime said nothing.

"Let me tell you something before we wipe your memory."

Orihime heard shuffling in the room as Soi Fon sat in another chair somewhere.

"Hogyoku is our enemy. You know why? Well 10 years ago , we had a man in our weapons department. In fact , he was the department's Boss. He was a sweet man , and did his job very well. A little too well. No one suspected that this man was trying to assassinate Head Boss , and take over Seireitei , until he attacked his Lt. when she foumd out. After he was discovered a traitor, he and his partners , two other Bosses in two other departments , made their getaway , and formed their own alliance , Hogyoku , and they threaten and attack us from time to time. You joining them would make you our enemy too , Orihime , and you don't want that. You want a fresh start without all of this in it. That's why we're giving you the opportunity to drink this potion. Yes it will erase a year's worth of memory, we'll be sure to leave a note, explaining that your father has been found dead. Now you can drink it and be happy, or have it injected forcefully into your bloodstream. I don't care either way. You have three hours to comply."

The bright light went out and Orihime opened her eyes to a dimmer light coming from the tiny window in the door. The room was empty now , which wasn't a surprise to her. She didn't want to see Soi Fon anyway.

The room was mostly empty , with the exception of her chair , which was against the wall to the right of the door , and another chair that was positioned at a table in the center of the room. There were two things on the table: a glass of some blue liquid , and a needle with the exact same liquid squishing around in it , which was weird because the needle was sitting still.

But Orihime didn't want to forget any of this. She didn't want to forget get her initiation day , all the awesome experiences that she'd been through with these people , and as fake as they all were , she didn't want to forget the few friends that she made . . .

* * *

"Um , appointment with Soi Fon. Orihime Inoue," Orihime told the man at the front desk. He was rather large , and hairy if you asked her. He had hair on his arms ; it didn't look like he'd shaved any part of his face in years ; and she had no doubt that his chest was just as hairy.  
It was just disgusting as hell.

"Boss Komamura , and she's expecting you," the man replied , boredly. "Down this hall-" he pointes to his left"- up the elevator to the 2nd floor, and on your right at the end of the hall is her office.

"Okay thanks!" and with that , Orihime was on her merry way.

She walked through the hall , oblivious to all the weird stares she was recieving. Everyone was wearing these white and black catsuit-like outfits. But she had on a hot pink croptop that said 'Whatever' one the front, with ripped up dark blue jeans and some hot pink 6-inch heels. And that purse was hot pink with denim material patched along the outside. Orihime didn't even know how much she really stood out.

She got onto the elevator, but before the door closed completely, four fingers slipped between the doors, causing them to open back up, giving Orihime her first look at her first love-crush. Ichigo Kurosaki.

He stepped onto the elevator, and froze for a second before awkwardly standing next to her. He, too had on a black suit, but it was a formal suit instead of a catsuit. His orange hair had Orihime dying to just run her fingers through them. It wasn't styled in any way so she didn't really think he'd care. He had sparkly brown eyes that had Orihime in a trance as she stared into them. He kept sliding awkward glances on her direction hoping she'd stop staring at him, until he openly stared back.

"Um . . . can I help you?" He asked, awkwardly.

Orihime snapped and realized she'd been staring at the man.

"Oh I'm sorry," she apologized, nervously, "It's just been a long day and I find myself zoning out at the weirdest things, eh heh . . ."

"So I'm a weird thing?"

Orihime's eyes got large as she felt herself about to babble and she couldn't stop herself.  
"Oh no! Of course you're not weird! I wasn't saying you were weird! Hell, I'm weird! Oh my gosh, did I just say that?! I'm sorry I'm not weird! I meant-"

"Hey , hey , hey! I was just kidding!" Ichigo laughed at her make an idiot of herself.

She just froze. Then smiled.  
"Of course you were kidding!" she waved it off with a giggle. "I was only playing along!"

"Right. . I'm Ichigo Kurosaki," he held out his hand out the business way. "Pleasure to meet you Ms . . ?"

"Inoue. Orihime Inoue." She took his hand and shook it, enjoying the warmth of his hand gave her own cold slender hand.

"So you're here to apply for the job, huh?" Ichigo inquired.

Orihime remembered at that moment that no one had pushed the floor button. What floor was it? She was so focused on Ichigo she forgot her directions.

"Uh, yeah, I actually have an appointment with Soi Fon that I'm about to be late to."

Ichigo doubled over coughing and seemed to be choking on whatever. Orihime patted his back.

"Oh my goodness, are you okay?!"

Then he raised, and she saw that he was laughing. At her.

"What's so funny?" She looked at him curiously and a little aggravatedly. His shoulders hitched a little until he finally calmed down and wiped his eyes. Then he looked at her, and started laughing all over again.

"You know what? I give-"

Then the elevator began go down. Orihime froze and watched the numbers on the elevator go up as the elevator went down. What the heck?  
Two, three . . .

"Hey, Ichigo what's going on? I thought elevators were supposed to go up?"

He sighed and shook his head.

"You really don't know anything do you? It's cute."

Orihime's heart fluttered and her cheeks sported a nice pink tint as she turned away from him so he couldn't see it. He just called her cute!

She returned her attention back to the numbers on the elevator.  
This was too weird.  
Four, five, six, ding!

The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened to one of the most intimidating men in the building. The only reason Orihime knew this, was because she noticed Ichigo straightening himself rather quickly. The man had black hair that was braided to the back on one side and the other side was down to his shoulders. He wore an all white business suit, with white things in his hair that matched. He paid Orihime absolutely no mind. Howwver, when he stepped onto the elevtor, a redheaded man with a ponytail, eerie tattoos over his eyebrows, and a black suit like Ichigo's followed him , and stood in the furtherest corner of the elevator, openly staring at Orihime.  
Ichigo just saluted.

"Boss Kuchiki, sir."

"You may stand at ease."

Ichigo let out a breath he had obviously been holding, and relaxed, fixing his tie. The redheaded man snickered in the corner of the elevator, obviously amused. Orihime didn't catch the drift to be respectful, so she tried the friendly approach.

"Hi! My name is Orihime Inoue, and I'm applying for job here in Soi Fon's department, nice to meet you!" She held out her hand to Boss Kuchiki for a handshake. Kuchiki looked at her with some disdainful look, that made her shrink down about five feet, and the redheaded man, jumped between her and Kuchiki.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing? You aren't even worthy of standing in Mr. Kuchiki's presence, so what the hell makes you think you can just talk to him so casually?!"

He drew his pistol out at her and aimed it right in her face. Orihime's eyebrows knitted in a frown. She slapped the gun out of her face and his hand, and pulled out her pink Hello Kitty Pistol from her purse in one motion, and aimed it at him. Then she lowered it and put it back in her purse.

"Sorry! I have this really bad reflex thing when I feel threatened on the spot like that. I'm new here and I didn't know about the whole respect thing. I'm sorry," Orihime babbled nervously hoping she wouldn't get kicked out.

The redheaded man's face was stuck in utter surprise. He couldn't even move to pick his gun back up. Ichigo was no better. Where did a babbling diva get moves like that? Maybe she really did know where she was.

Mr. Kuchiki's demeanor didn't change, but his expression softened up a little. He lightly pushed the redhead aside.

"Move Renji."

Renji jumped and moved back into his little corner. He was so stunned, probably about Orihime and the fact that his boss actually touched him. He looked at his arm as if he'd never wash it again.

Mr. Kuchiki then addressed Orihime, again to Renji and Ichigo's surprise.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Ms. Inoue. Byakuya Kuchiki, Boss of the 6th Department of Warfare."

Orihime smiled, and everyone turned their attention to the floor buttons on the elevator.

"Kurosaki, which floor are you headed to?" Boss Kuchiki asked Ichigo.

"The second floor, sir."

Then the directions snapped back to Orihime.

"Oh I have to go to the second floor, too."

Renji growled at her.

"I mean, uh . . sir!"

* * *

Orihime smiled at that memory. She and Byakuya now had a mutual friendship because she had saved his life once. Renji and Ichigo were best friends, so eventually he got over her being so casual with his boss and they became friends, too. Renji even confided in her, his feelings for Rukia. The guy was in love with the girl. But just like like Orihime, Renji's crush fell for Ichigo. She even wondered if he told Ichigo his feelings for her. It didn't matter now, because she was about to forget everything . . .

* * *

"You have a very interesting profile, Ms. Inoue."

Soi Fon threw the file across the desk. She had only read it for maybe two seconds before she started shooting Orihime glances. It was making Orihime uncomfortable. So she picked up the file, read it, and put it down trying hard not to laugh.  
The file only had her name, age, and physical description on it

"So why don't you tell me your story? Because as it stands, I don't know you or your character, therefore I don't trust you. You think - is something funny?"

Orihime couldn't hold it in. She burst out into laughter fits, and almost fell out of her chair. She was grabbing her sides, and her stomach started hurting.

"Ms. Inoue you are wasting my time."

Orihime calmed down and wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm just laughing at the irony of my life. I've grown up being addressed as a nobody, my brother died so then I had nobody, and the fact that my profile is empty, just proves the whole point; I am a nobody!"

Orihime got serious then.

"Which is why I am here. I want to be able to do something about the people who create people like me. Bullies, smokers, drinkers, thugs, I wanna get rid of them all. Professionally, so I can get paid."

This sure caught Soi Fon off guard. She was lost for words for about two seconds, then her expression went back to being stern and demanding.

"Why should I trust or believe anything you say? You could be an infiltrator with a sad sob story just trying to get in and get secrets. I have no concrete proof that you are loyal."

Orihime just smiled.

"Sorry to disappoint you Soi Fon, but you have absolutely no way of trusting me. All you have is my word that I have no evil intentions here. I just wanna be somebody's hero. Maybe even my own."

Soi Fon stared at her for moment, the air thick between them. Orihime really doubted that she would ever get in, so she really wasn't expecting Soi Fon to trust her.

"Sorry, I don't trust you. But I am willing to give you a chance."

Orihime's eyes widened and so did her smile. She jumped out of her chair, and ran behind the desk to give Soi Fon a big hug. Soi Fon tried desperately to get the girl off of her.

"Thank you so much! I promise I won't let you down!"

* * *

Even though there was a certain level of untrust involved at that moment, Soi Fon eventually warmed up to the girl unlike anyone else that she had worked with, for, or employed. And she was new to it. But Orihime back then had been naive and stupid, and as much as it irritated Soi Fon, she loved the girl dearly.

Orihime sat forward in her chair with her elbows on her knees, and hung her head. Soi Fon will never forget this, and she'll probably never learn to trust anyone ever again. Orihime had thoroughly fucked up her opinion of everyone, even the sweet ones, and at this point, Orihime couldn't even say she felt bad at this point. She loved Soi Fon too, but she was the one who gave her the mission, and was probably the one who introduced the idea of the memory-wipe. And her excuse to Orihime would be: "I only did what I thought was best for you."

Orihime didn't want to hear that bullshit. She used to be sweet and naive and 'never hurt a fly'-like. But all of that changed when she had gone on her very first mission . . .

"Alright, Rookie, are you ready?"

Orihime gave Ichigo the thumbs up as they jumped off of the roof of the Seireitei complex. Orihime enjoyed the thrill of soaring through the air, and watching as the Earth rushed up to catch her. She was about to put every once of training that she gone through into this mission. She didn't think Ichigo would ever stop calling her Rookie. But she was just happy to be with him. It was protocol for someone to accompany the new 'rookie' on their first five missions.

Ichigo and Orihime sprinted to their destination at speeds Orihime would have never thought possible until that week of training. Their, well her, mission was to take out this man who refused to pay child support for his two-year-old son, and the court system just refused to do anything about it. Ichigo thought it was kind of stupid, but Orihime was too happy that it was her first mission to care about the back story.

When they arrived at their destination, Ichigo and Orihime camped atop a roof two house's from the target, who was sitting in their car texting in a parking lot.

Ichigo passed Orihime the snipe-rifle and nodded towards the man.

"Clean shot. Forehead. Think you got it?"

Orihime set up the rifle, laid on her stomach, and peeped through the scope one the rifle with an eye closed.

She had a perfectly clear shot, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. To take another man's life, just because he refused to do an something that some insignificant other wanted him to do? Orihime breathed and closed both of her eyes. 'I can't do this.'

She sat back up and laid the whole rifle down. Then with a huff, she sat back on the roof and looked at Ichigo with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry I just can't do it. I only have the guts to kill one man, the man who is responsible for me being here in the first place. I'm not a killing machine."

Ichigo just smiled.

"You know, everyone goes through this phase. The 'I can't do it' phase. But trust me, after your first one, it gets a lot easier," Ichigo said with a reassuring smile. "Just, try to imagine that that man down there, is the this man that has made you unhappy for so many years, and you just hate this man with all your guts."

Orihime thought about it, and looked back down at their target. He did kind of look like him . . .

"I guess your right . . ."

She resumed her position on her stomach with the rifle straight up again. She took aim at the man, who was now about to start his car and and be gone forever.

So with Orihime's good eye, she aimed at the man, and with a two second hesitation, she fired the gun. Her first kill. The man hung lifelessly over the steering wheel, and Orihime felt the strange urge to throw up at the sight of a dead body.

* * *

But Ichigo was right. After the getting over the shock of killing the first one, it did get easier. A lot easier. Too easy for little Hime. She found herself getting excited at going on missions, and killing others gave her a thrill that nothing could compare to. That's when she realized that her missions were getting too easy. She'd practiced daily, and become probably one of the best Stealth Ops in the building. And that in turn sharpened her attitude and personality. She was still nice, but only when she didn't feel threatened. Otherwise, she was an asshole.

But she had only gone and applied at Seireitei for one reason. And now that she had done and handled what she needed to handle, what were a few lost memories? Her father was dead and she was happy.

So she made her way across the room to the table that held the glass and the needle. She picked up the glass and raised it to her lips, only to have it knocked out of her hand and shattered onto the concrete of a floor of the room.


	5. Chapter 5

The Assassin : Chapter 5

**A/N:** Hi I'm back with another chapter. I really didn't expect this to be a long drawn out story with a complicated plot, but it kind of looks that way right now. I'm not that experienced with all that, but I am willing to try. =)

**P.S.:** You guys are the best! =').

* * *

So she made her way across the room to the table that held the glass and the needle. She picked up the glass and raised it to her lips, only to have it knocked out of her hand and shattered onto the concrete of a floor of the room.

Orihime snapped around to become face to face with a man that the most gorgeous blue hair ever. Even better than Ichigo's. He also had a pair a gorgeous blue eyes that glimmered perfectly in the dim lighting of the room.

"Just what the hell did you think you were doing?!"

Orihime snapped out of her trance (she had to stop doing that around hot guys!) and stared at the man with apprehension. Who the hell was this guy? She folded her arms and lifted her chin defiantly.

"Embracing my peaceful future."

The man slapped the mess out of the back of her head, and then asked again.

"Ow! What was that for?!" Orihime hissed, rubbing the back of her head.

"For being stupid," he replied, grabbing her arm and pulling her back the darker corner of the room. "You know, if you had drank that potion, you would've gotten me into some big trouble."

"I'm . . Sorry?"

Once they were in the corner, he threw a smoke bomb with down that made Orihime start coughing and sneezing.

"What was in that? Cat Litter?!"

"Damn you and your fucking allergies! Are you trying to get us caught?!" he yelled at her as their surroundings became pitch black and Orihime couldn't feel the ground any longer.

The world seemed to swirl around them in the darkness, and Orihime felt as if she was going to fall off balance, but there was no ground beneath her. She looked at her captor, who's mouth was moving slow, and his voice was inaudible. It seemed as if time had stopped or slowed down. Then all of the sudden, in the darkness, Orihime felt as if she were being sucked into a hole, and her feet crashed onto some ground, but she was still standing perfectly with the blue-haired man still holding onto her.

"You're the one shouting! And what the hell is going on?!" Orihime blurted accidentally, realizing that that was what she was going to say before 'time stopped'.

"Damn you talk too much" He raised a fist to knock the girl out, but then they were plunged into a bright light. "Ah fuck, turn that down!"

The lights dimmed enough to where Orihime could see now. They were in an all white room with an impossibly high ceiling, and doors that looked like they were made for some giant. There were people surrounding her and the man with the blue hair, and they looked kind of intimidating. But the main one of all was sitting on a throne-like chair atop some stairs.

"Grimmjow, please fix your stance. We wouldn't want our guest to feel threatened by us, would we?" Said the man on the throne.

Grimmjow looked at his raised fist, then slowly lowered it and looked at Orihime, who neither flinched, nor looked scared, or curious, but surprised. She was like a statue!

"Thank you," he said to Grimmjow, giving him a look that said 'this isn't over.' To Orihime, "Welcome Ms. Inoue, to Hogyoku. I'm Sosuke Aizen. We hope you accepted our invitation to our society. It's not often that we just invite people. Few actually make the actual job. I want this to become your home and us your family. Join us and you'll never be unhappy."

Orihime looked around at the unfriendly gazes that she was receiving. "Unhappy, huh?" Orihime chuckled. "Honestly, Mr. Sosuke, you should have let me take the damn potion and be happy."

Everyone moved to attack her on the spot.

"How dare you speak to Lord Aizen in that manner?!"

"Who the hell does she think she is?"

"Kill her!"

"She thinks she runs the place!"

"Silence!"

The room fell silent instantly, leaving Orihime wondering how much shit she had just fallen into. Mr. Aizen stood and slowly approached her, and she began to tremble involuntarily.

"Ms. Inoue, there is a level of respect that we all abide by here. We wouldn't want everyone to think you were special enough to disrespect me and my home now would we?"

Orihime's eyes widened, and her trembling waves got stronger as he got closer.

"N-n-no sir! Of course n-n-not! I-I-I'm sorry!" Damn this guy was scary!

"Now, now, no need for apologies. This merely a warning since you're new. Don't let it happen again." He stopped a foot from where he stood. In her personal space circle. She would have moved or flinched, had she not been so afraid that he was going to chop her head off right then and there.

She nodded her head. He moved his face to her ear and whispered a message, that Orihime really felt could have been stated out loud.

"Don't forget that we saved you. You owe us. So do us a favor and just do what you're told and everything will be just fine."

He pulled back and smiled. Orihime had the urge to scrub his breath off her ear, but decided against it. So she just nodded again.

"Very good. Ulquiorra, may you escort Ms. Inoue to her new quarters?"

Orihime turned around to see a familiar man of a little more than five feet with raven-colored hair that brushed his shoulders in the back, and some really pretty emerald-green eyes. He too was kind of intimidating, but his height kind of made him less scary.

"Yes, Lord Aizen."

Then Mr. Aizen turned to Grimmjow. "Mr. Jaggerjack. This way please."

Mr. Aizen led Grimmjow to a room behind his throne, and Orihime really didn't want to know what they were doing back there.

"Woman, this way."

Orihime turned around to find that Ulquiorra was leaving her and was already almost to the door.

"Hey! Wait for me!" she ran to him, thoroughly curious as to how the hell he was going to open the big ass door.

When he reached the door, he simply pushed it open. Like it was nothing. Just gave it a slight push. Orihime stood in its doorway in amazement, at the door an the enormous hallway that it led to. The whole place was white and huge and vast and. . . Rich!

"I see you are accustomed to a mediocre setting."

She hadn't expected the guy to say anything, much less insult to where she came from.

"I prefer a type of setting that feels like home rather than a setting that makes me feel like I have silver spoons shoved up my ass," she said back, spitefully.

Since he was in front of her, she really didn't know what face he was making. But based on what she had seen of him so far, it probably didn't change from that blank, nonchalant, go fuck yourself look he'd had the whole time. She chuckled.

"Your room."

She stopped at another room, that had yet another door that was about half the size of the other one, which was still too big. Even Boss Kenpachi and Boss Komamura would have trouble touching the top of it.

"Thanks."

"I will be your personal escort until you have developed a certain level of trust with Lord Aizen. You are not to leave this room until I come for you. If you do leave, there will be repercussions. Any questions?"

"No, not really. Thanks," she muttered.

Ulquiorra nodded, and with that, left her alone in the large yet empty room. It consisted of a bed in the center of the room against the wall between two windows, two nightstands on either sides of the bed, a dresser on her far left, and a table with a chair on her far right. There was also a rather large portrait of Sosuke above her bed. She'd have to get it removed later.

Orihime walked into the room, and realized that there was a closet door to the right of the dresser and a bathroom door to the left of it. So she decided a shower was in order.

Orihime walked into the closet, an felt for a light switch. When she found it, she flipped it up and screamed at the sight before her.

* * *

**A/N: **This is the shortest chapter I know, and I'm sorry, but I've just been so busy with school and cheer practice, so next time! :)


	6. Chapter 6

The Assassin : Chapter 6

**A/N:** Hi I'm back with another chapter, thanks for your coöperation. By the way, if the story seems to be going downhill or if it just gets boring PLEASE let me know, because I will just keep typing and not know if I'm putting you to sleep. Okay? Okay, ¡muchas gracias!

* * *

Orihime walked into the closet, and felt for a light switch. When she found it, she flipped it up and screamed at the sight before her.

The clothes . . . White, white, white dresses everywhere! The same dresses, The same shoes, the same white everything! No pink, no blue, no green, nothing!  
No T-shirts, no jeans, no shorts, nothing!

Orihime sank to her knees and buried her face in her hands.  
'I'm gonna die!'

Ulquiorra burst into the room with his weapon drawn, searching for trouble, but only to find Orihime on her knees sobbing in front of the closet.

He sighed in annoyance, holstered his gun, and walked over to Orihime, stuffing his hands in his pockets. From there, he could see nothing that could be upsetting the woman, though with a scream like that, he didn't want to hear Lord Aizen's mouth about it and not have answer.

"Woman, what could possibly be the nature of your distress?" he asked, not even really concerned, and more annoyed than anything.

"Look at that!" Orihime pointed into the closet. "That is a nightmare!"

Ulquiorra inspected the closet, but found nothing wrong or out of place. Thirty dresses that were specially ordered from Espada Online with free shipping, check. The shoes that matched the dresses from the same company, also with free shipping, check. Under garments that were ordered from the Fraccion section of the company, check. Everything was in place as Lord Aizen ordered, and there wasn't any unusual sighting that could have set her off. Strange woman.

"Woman I see nothing wrong with the closet."

"Not the closet, dumb ass! The clothes! I can't wear those, they're ugly!"

Ulquiorra turned towards the door, flipping his own cape, which was similar to her dresses, and stopped at the door.

"I could care less of what you think of the garments," he turned and looked at her with a disdainful look that reminded her of Byakuya. How dare she be ungrateful! Those dresses cost $163 each, not including the shoes and the underwear. "However, you are to be showered, dressed and ready for your orientation with Lord Aizen in an hour. Tardiness is unacceptable."

With that, he left her alone in the empty room, with the door closed behind him. Orihime just stared at the door for a moment before moving on.

"I think he really does have silver spoons stuck up his ass."

After forty-five minutes of showering and squeezing into an 'ugly' dress, Orihime admired herself in the mirror, thinking that maybe it was her shape and figure that made the dress not look so bad. She searched high and low for a flat-iron, or a brush, but only found a simple comb. She swore was experiencing fashion homicide.

Five minutes later, she heard a knock at the door. She guessed Ulquiorra was there to escort her to 'his majesty', but when she opened the door, she was surprised to see a red-faced Grimmjow standing at her door, purposely avoiding eye contact with her.

"Uh, hi?" Orihime greeted awkwardly.

"I, uh . . Eh hem, apologize for, uh . . You know, threatening you earlier." His eyes darted toward hers then back past her again.  
So Mr. Aizen pulled Grimmjow aside to make him apologize? Really?

"Pssh! It was nothing you have to apologize for!" Orihime replied with a smile. "You didn't actually hurt me so everything's fine."

Grimmjow looked at her, his face returning to its normal color, then shook his head. "No offense, but you'd honestly have been better off if I had let you drink that stuff."

And with that, he walked off, hands in pockets. Orihime stared after him wondering what the hell he meant.

She pushed the door so it would close, but it was pushed back open, and in came her personal robot.

"You know, knocking is more polite than just walking in on someone," Orihime advised him as she put her dirty clothes in the hamper behind her closet.

"Unfortunately for you, privacy is not a luxury you posses at the moment," Ulquiorra stated with that blank face that never seems to change. "Are you ready for your meeting with Lord Aizen?"

"Yes, 'your majesty'," Orihime replied sarcastically. She slid her shoes on and walked up to Ulquiorra, fluffing her hair a bit.  
He studied her from top to bottom, to be sure that she was presentable, Orihime guessed.

"Surprisingly it suits you."

"Oh shut up!"

* * *

"Ms. Inoue."

Mr. Aizen greeted her as Ulquiorra led her into his 'master's chambers'. Orihime stifled a laugh at the thought.  
Ulquiorra bowed and exited the room.

The room was actually comfortable in comparison to her own. He had a large bed that sat cater-cornered on the far right side of the room, that had a royal-type of canopy that draped over it. He had a dresser with a mirror over it in the center of the room up against the wall, with bone-like plants on either side of it. The bathroom and closet were side-by-side on the far left of the room, similar to hers, except they were directly by each other. He had an interesting rug that had the image of himself wielding a sword in one hand and a violet-black colored glass ball in the other. What that meant, Orihime had no clue.

"I see you like my decorations," Aizen said, walking from his closet toward her, looking around the room himself. Orihime directed her attention toward him. "In time you will be able to do the same with your own room."

He opened his door and offered to let her go first. Hesitantly, she did so.

"The dress looks astounding on you."

Orihime fought a shiver at the man's compliment. She always felt uncomfortable when grown men complimented her like that. It was nice and all, but she was always wary of perverts and pedophiles.

"Uh, thanks . ."

He followed her into the hallway and they began walking in random directions. At first they were silent, but when they walked into a hallway lined with portraits, photographs, and paintings, Aizen spoke up.

"You know, we share a similar story," he said, stopping at a large picture of himself beside Bosses Jushiro and Kyoraku. They looked happy with their smiles practically gleaming in the sunlight of the photograph.

Orihime let go her insubordinate attitude for a moment to study the photo. How could such a friendship be so tarnished, that it could be replaced with such violent rivalry?

"You're probably wondering how the things of today came to be," Aizen said with a chuckle. They continued walking. "10 years ago, I was head of the Weapons Department of Seireitei, in fact, I was a damn good Boss at it, too. I had such a loyal Lieutenant." They stopped at a portrait of a girl Orihime recognized as Momo Hinamori. "She was so beautiful, and I think she may have had a crush on me." He paused for a moment, studying the picture, then snapped out of it and continued walking.

"Beside that point, I wanted more, for all the less I was given. It was never enough. My job was too easy, I wasn't being paid enough, Yamamoto was an asshole about vacations . . So I got to thinking-"

They stopped at a landscape painting that resembled the one in his bedroom, except this one had two men on either side of him that Orihime didn't recognize. One was a dark man with goggles and dreads, and the other was a silver-haired man with a creepy ass smile.

"-what if I was the man who ran the show for once? What if-" he paused to show emphasis on the picture with his hands "-what if I ran my own business that would put Seireitei to shame, and out of business? I would be the ruler of the world, a man so powerful, that even the air thickens in my presence . . "

Orihime stared at Aizen as if he were the craziest man on the planet. "Uh, yeah, I totally felt the same way . . " No way she was getting on his bad side.

"So do you know what I did? I went rogue. Busted the chip in my phone, and took off. Eventually, the two other Bosses who shared my pain joined me as my left- and right-hand men." He pointed to the two men on either side himself in the painting. "Kaname Tousen and Gin Ichimaru."

"So you see, you felt the same way I did, except you needed that extra push in the right direction. I am the direction. Join me against the Seireitei, and help me make them pay for our suffering."

Orihime thought long and hard about how they betrayed her and were all set up against her in the end.

"I'm in."

* * *

Orihime sat on the edge of the bed going over the events of the day. From waking up to Rukia and Ichigo's conversation, to going rogue, to almost taking that potion, to now. Maybe this was all a dream. She laid down and closed her eyes as sleep and exhaustion took over her body.

* * *

Orihime awoke to the sound of something screaming, or yelling. It was a sound she had never heard before. She sat up and realized that she was laying in sand, in the middle of a desert, except there was no temperature or wind or nothing. There were bone dry trees and shrubs scattered everywhere, but nothing else. Just a night sky with only a crescent moon to adorn it. She had a sense of deja vu. She had been in a place like this in another dream. But this time it felt so real.

She stood all the way up and looks around for a sign of life. The only sign she could find was the ominous screaming, and in the distance, she could spy a black figure with a white mask and a hold in its chest headed right for her.

* * *

**A/N:**If you're wondering, yes it is a hollow, and yes it is out to get her.


	7. Chapter 7

The Assassin: Chapter 7

**A/N**: Hola, I'm back with a new chapter, finally, please don't choke me! /.\  
I'm low key feeling kind of lame right now. :/

But enough with my life and on with the story!

* * *

Orihime stood all the way up and looks around for a sign of life. The only sign she could identify was the ominous screaming, and in the distance, she could spy a black figure with a white mask and a hole in its chest headed right for her.

Orihime took off in the opposite direction as fast as she could, wasting no time, but occasionally tripping over her dress. She could feel him hot on her trail, but no matter what, she had to escape.

_What hell is happening?!_ She screamed to herself as her feet carried her deeper into the dayless abyss. She then did what never should have been done - she turned around to see the beast right behind her, and getting even closer by the second. No matter how hard or how fast she ran, she knew the beast would catch her and devour her and her soul, and just as she saw a shadow raise above her head, she closed her eyes as she was swept off her feet and soaring harmlessly into the air.

The air whipped her hair everywhere as she felt herself flying weightlessly into the air. Was death this painless? She had always thought it was the most painful part of life; the part where nothing seems to matter. But this felt good – no, right. She heard her angel wings flapping as they carried her in to the sky. She felt the warmth and comfort of heaven taking her soul deeper and deeper away from the world of the living. And she snuggled and embraced it. _Snuggle? Embrace? Wait, what?_

Her eyes shot open, and stared right into some deeply familiar emerald-green ones. Her favorite robot. However his appearance was quite different, and made her second-guess herself. His black hair was at least three inches longer, he had horns coming out of the top of his head, his forearms and legs were covered in black fur, and he had wings that resembled that of a bat. He was, for lack of a better word, the most beautiful, unrealistically supernatural being Orihime had ever seen in her life.

"Ulquiorra?"

The beast looked at her - without recognition. He ignored her and kept flying for about five more minutes before setting her on a rock that was, still, in the middle of nowhere.

As he set Orihime down, he watched her, as if she were some new species he had never seen before. He stepped close to her and studied her from bottom to top. Then he leaned his face into the crook of her neck, his nose tickling her as he inhaled deeply, earning a surprised gasp from her, then he stepped away and stared into her eyes.

"Why did you not defend yourself from that Hollow?" he asked her, demandingly.

"Excuse me? I may be a trained assassin, but I'm smart enough to know when I'm outmatched," Orihime snapped back. "That thing - Hollow, was it? - was going to eat me!"

"Your spirit energy is quite inferior; however you had an ample amount to destroy that hollow."

"Spirit energy? Ulquiorra, what the hell are you talking about?!"

Ulquiorra grabbed her throat tightly, and lifted her off the ground with a frown.

"How do you know my name?"

Orihime kicked her feet around as she tried to hit the pressure points that were supposed to be in his wrist and arm, but nothing was working. He threw her against the rock then crouched over her in an intimidating manner. Orihime spit out blood then stared into his eyes with hatred.

"You -" she breathed heavily trying to catch her breath, "you work for that - that Aizen son of a bitch! You're-" she coughed up more blood "- supposed to be my escort!"

Then she blacked out.

* * *

Orihime woke up safe and sound in her bed in the pristinely white room. She looked around for signs that she hadn't just been dreaming. She felt her throat, which was no longer bruised for how tight 'Ulquiorra' had squeezed it. Her back didn't hurt from hitting the rock. She was fine.

She got out of the bed, completely baffled as to the meaning of her dream, washed up, dressed, and shortly after, heard a knock at the door.

"I'm coming in," came Ulquiorra's stoic voice through the door.

Orihime jumped, even though she had been expecting him to come. His appearance was the same as yesterdays; however, Orihime couldn't help but feel slightly awkward around him. She barely knew him, yet she had such a real dream that involved him-well, something that resembled him in a way.

"Oh, hi Ulquiorra . . . " Orihime greeted him with a smile that she hoped didn't come off as a grimace.

"Breakfast with the rest of the team is in order. I trust that you are prepared?" Ulquiorra asked with no real concern as to whether she was really ready or not.

It didn't take Orihime long to realize why she despised this man. He kept up this nonchalant charade with everything he said and did, and it pissed her off to no end.

"'Good morning, Orihime! Did you sleep well?' Oh I slept wonderfully! 'Me too! Would you like to join me and the others for breakfast?' Sure! Why not?" Orihime sarcastically gave her the version of how he should have greeted her. "Do you have any kind of feelings or emotion?"

Ulquiorra just stared at her with that disdainful look that never stopped reminding her of how Byakuya always at Ichigo when he's with Rukia. Orihime chuckled. This would throw him in for a loop.

"I had a dream about you last night," Orihime said as she walks toward him at the door. He didn't move a muscle, no eye twitch, no jump, no pink cheeks, nothing. _How the fuck does he do it?!_

Ulquiorra simply turned around and walked out of the door, with her sulking in his footsteps.

* * *

Aizen awaited Orihime and Ulquiorra's arrival in the large marble room that Orihime had met the Hogyoku group in on her first day there. It seemed smaller now that she was used to the vastness of the place. Aizen stood from his throne and approached the pair as they got closer to his chair. Orihime didn't know what it was, but there was a darker flame burning in his eyes than from yesterday.

"Ms. Inoue, I have a job for you."

Orihime stiffened. She was already about to go out on a mission on her second day there. Back at Seireitei, she had to wait six weeks before she was allowed proper training with a rifle.

"I know you are very well capable of handling your missions, Ms. Inoue, but it's procedure that you go on a test mission to be absolutely sure that I have your undoubted devotion to Hogyoku. You understand don't you?"

Orihime nodded and glanced at Ulquiorra, who was looking at a window on the other side of the room. The guy looked so lost. It made her almost feel bad for him. Almost.

"Do you think you're ready?"

"Mr. Aizen, I've been doing this for awhile now, I think I can handle whatever you throw at me," Orihime quipped with a smirk. She could hear Ulquiorra scoff under his breath, but she ignored it.

"Very well. Mr. Schiffer, if you would please fill Ms. Inoue in on the details. I have things to attend to."

With that he turned back to sit on his throne, but stopped and motioned for Ulquiorra to go to him. Ulquiorra approached his master and Aizen whispered something in his ear that was inaudible to Orihime. Orihime didn't like that one bit; she hated secrets.

After they were done speaking (whispering), Ulquiorra guided Orihime back to the door and opened it for her, which she did not expect him to do. Once in the hallway, Ulquiorra began to brief her on her "first" mission.

"You are to pack a bag for a three-day trip to Kyoto, Japan. We are flying there to confront a client who owes Mr. Aizen an excessive amount of money, and whose deadline is far overdue. This man is also a king pin who believes no one is afraid of him. Mr. Aizen has made me aware that you are accustomed to simplistic and mediocre assignments. This is a level five mission, and that is why Mr. Jaggerjack and myself will be joining you whether you like it or not. Is that clear?"

Orihime simply nodded and muttered something about him being a stuck up little prick. If he heard her he didn't care. _Asshole._

* * *

"Welcome to the Mess Hall." An unrealistically tall man greeted her and Ulquiorra in the dining room for breakfast. He had raven-black hair, large teeth, and a creepy smile that made Orihime want to puke. "The name's Nnoitra, pleased to meet you Ms . . . "

"Inoue. Orihime Inoue. Nice to meet you." She kept her distance to refrain from having to shake the man's hand. He was practically undressing her with his eyes the way he kept looking up and down at her curvy frame while he spoke.

"Oh but the pleasure's all mine," Nnoitra said with that grin that Orihime hated already. He stared at her for a moment making her extremely uncomfortable.

"That's enough, Gilga," Ulquiorra, broke his hypnosis with the girl as he guided Orihime to the table. He was sure to sit far from Nnoitra. Orihime made a mental note that Ulquiorra obviously didn't like the man.

Nnoitra watched them as they walked away and scoffed. It wasn't the end.

Soon after, the Hall began to fill with the rest of the Hogyoku group. Orihime found it calming and family-like that they all ate together. In fact, in her own way, she thought it was kind of cute.

"Ulquiorra, I asked you twice to pass the damn butter!" Grimmjow's voice rang across the table for the third time. Orihime felt the urge to jump across the table and shove the butter up his ass.

"Patience is a virtue, Jaggerjack. I am simply spreading the butter on my pancakes, and if you simply cannot wait any longer, then perhaps you should get yourself a stick from the kitchens," Ulquiorra replied calmly and emotionlessly as he spread his butter on his pancakes.

"Ul-fucking-quiorra!" Grimmjow jumped across the table and tackled Ulquiorra to the floor, startling Orihime. She looked around the table to see if anybody was going to do something about the two, but they sat chatting with each other as if nothing was happening. Like this was normal. Orihime took back what she said about this "family" being cute.

The man next to her, whose name she could not remember saw the look on her face and chuckled.

"Don't worry; those two are at it at every other breakfast. It's perfectly normal," he said in a way that reminded her so much of Kyoraku. "I'm Starrk by the way." He stuck out his hand for her to shake. He seemed friendly enough, so she shook it.

Then she returned her attention back to the tussle on the floor. Ulquiorra already had Grimmjow pinned beneath him with a beautiful sword at his throat. Ulquiorra was still composed and didn't sweat a bit, but Grimmjow however was out of breath and his hair was a mess.

"His sword is pretty," Orihime marveled aloud by accident. Starrk just chuckled again.

"That's Murcielago. Mr. Schiffer's most prized possession, and his most skilled weapon. No one can even compare to him when he wields that thing. It's scary," he explained.

"Why Murcielago?" Orihime asked, never taking her eyes off of the fighting pair. Ulquiorra had gotten off of Grimmjow and returned to his seat beside her, while a pissed Grimmjow to left the room. Starrk didn't say anything more after Ulquiorra sat back at the table.

"Because I take an interest in bats," Ulquiorra said, taking a sip from his coffee.

_Bats . . . _Orihime was suddenly reminded of her mysterious dream and the fact that Ulquiorra had bat wings in the dream. There was no way she could have possibly known that he liked bats before now. _Coincidence?_

* * *

Orihime sat at her door with her things packed and ready to go on this mission. He wondered just how severe this mission was, and who the man was. She'd always wanted this; something big and dangerous. But she began to contradict herself in whether or not she felt she was honestly ready for this. She didn't trust Grimmjow or Ulquiorra enough to catch her should she fall. She had only herself to rely on.

That's when she heard the knock at her door. "I'm coming in."

She picked up her bags and was on her way.

* * *

**A/N: **This is one of my longest chapters, and it took me an hour and a half to write. Not exactly one of my favorites, but it has a lot of things in it that tie it to some kind of plot, I guess.

Also, please go read my one-shot _Graduation Day_. It's cute and quick and what not, but , yeah! =)

Anyway, thanks for the love and support, I'll try to keep on updating on time, but I'm making no promises.

Mwah! =)


	8. Chapter 8

The Assassin: Chapter 8

**A/N: **Good morning. Here's a new chapter where everything is beginning to happen. Enjoy!

* * *

The trip to Kyoto was to last eighteen hours, and that was plenty enough time for Orihime to get some shut-eye while Grimmjow bickered at Ulquiorra in the background. She could tell (don't ask how) that Ulquiorra somewhat trusted Grimmjow. Call it a fucked up friendship, but Ulquiorra didn't treat Grimmjow like he usually did others. He may have snapped at him and gave him threatening looks, but they were empty threats. Orihime found it kind of funny that he considered Grimmjow as a "friend". They were like total opposites; Grimmjow was loud, boisterous, and made Orihime want to rip his throat out at times, but Ulquiorra was always quiet, calm and composed.

Once on the plane, they all found their seats, Orihime beside the window, Ulquiorra in the middle, and Grimmjow on the outside. Grimmjow complained that should something bad happen, he didn't want to be trapped in the middle, or stuck by the window.

"Would any of you like something to eat or drink?" the flight attendant asked sweetly, as she pushed the cart up beside their row. Grimmjow grabbed a whole tray of food, but Orihime and Ulquiorra didn't want anything.

Orihime felt something off about the flight attendant. She was pretty and had long black hair that was tied up into a pony tail, with one long strand out in the front. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, but looks could be deceiving. Orihime didn't like it. Maybe it was the way she kept looking at Grimmjow as he removed the trays from the cart one by one. _Does she think he's cute or something?_ Orihime brushed the thought off with a wave. Maybe she was reading too much into it.

Ulquiorra eyed Grimmjow with disgust as he savagely tore into the meal. Grimmjow looked back up at Ulquiorra as he finished.

"What?" he asked stupidly.

"You disgust me," Ulquiorra replied, then turned his attention to the some television displaying some black and white movie. Grimmjow smirked and looked around for the pretty flight attendant. Orihime rolled her eyes and laid her head onto the window. As the plane flew through the air, she couldn't help but have second thoughts about going on the mission; in fact, she really would have rather drank the potion, and had her old boring lifestyle back. She watched the clouds swirl past the plane through the window, wondering if she would ever truly be happy.

* * *

Orihime, once again found herself in that barren land, with no sun, and only a moon to guide her. She stood from a large rock that was literally in the middle of nowhere. She looked around to see if there was anyone or thing around. This place was becoming more and more familiar to her, yet she didn't know she was dreaming, if it could be called that. She pinched herself, and found that it hurt – very much so. Orihime then decided that her best bet was to head in the direction of the moon.

As she walked through the dry desert, she noticed that she felt . . . energized, which was physically impossible considering the fact that she had been walking for quite some time now without water or food. She felt some kind of power within herself that was just beyond her grasp.

She then spotted a figure in the distance, flying in front of her view of the moon. She suspected that it was "Ulquiorra", but as it got closer, she could tell that this was certainly not Ulquiorra. So she took off in the other direction, nearly crashing herself and another figure to the sand. Ulquiorra.

He grabbed her arms and threw her to the ground, then directed his attention to the flying Hollow, if she remembered the name correctly. Ulquiorra pointed his finger to the flying Hollow, and shot some sort of turquoise-colored beam from his fingertip that expanded as it left his body. The Hollow was disintegrated on the spot, not even having a chance to fall to the ground in pieces.

Orihime breathed heavily as a new fear sunk in. She was dealing with supernatural creatures with inhuman abilities that could obliterate something without a second thought. "Ulquiorra" turned to her and pointed his finger at her as well, as if sensing her fear and uncomfort.

"Woman, why are you here?" he asked, still with his finger in her face. Orihime couldn't move, breathe, or even think straight. All she could focus on was the fact that she might actually die at the mercy of her supposed ally.

"I'm . . . I-I-I really don't know! P-please don't kill me!" Orihime squeezed her eyes shut waiting for it to end already. But it didn't.

"Pathetic."

Orihime opened her eyes to find Ulquiorra walking away, tail swinging side-to-side. Orihime then had a thought.

"Ulquiorra!"

He stopped and turned around to find Orihime running after him. Did she really think that he wouldn't give her the same fate that that Hollow faced? He glared at her with eyes that almost made her turn back the other way. Almost.

"How do I get out of here?" Orihime asked, feeling a little stupid at the look he gave her as soon as she asked.

"You must not be from here. I understand your problem now."

Orihime frowned at his smartass answer. He's always acted like that and it pissed her off.

"Excuse me-"

"Quiet trash," He commanded her as he wrapped his furry claws around her neck and lifted her from the ground. "You are not easily intimidated I see. How about now? Are you afraid?"

Orihime grabbed his hand and tried to pry it from her neck as she felt her life seeping away from her by the second, but he was simply too strong, and she was simply too weak. But although he could take her life, she realized that she'd be okay with that. She'd be in a better place (hopefully). She wasn't afraid of him, or afraid of him killing her because she would either continue to live in this Hell, or die, and have a chance at Heaven or Hell. Odds were in her favor in dying at the moment.

"No," she rasped. "I'm not afraid."

* * *

Orihime snapped awake with a large gasp, and started breathing heavily. That dream had felt so real; why didn't she know that she was dreaming in her actual dream? She was conscious and had her memories, but just didn't know she was dreaming until she actually woke up.

She looked to her right to find both Grimmjow and Ulquiorra staring at her, Grimmjow with his eyes as large as fifty-cent coins, and Ulquiorra staring just because she had done something unusual, of course with a blank face.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Grimmjow asked with a scowl. _Nice to know he cares,_ Orihime thought sarcastically.

"Perhaps she has asthma," Ulquiorra stated with a hint of a question. Orihime gave a fake laugh.

"It was just a dream, nothing you guys should worry about," Orihime said with a bright smile, knowing full well that neither one of them actually gave a damn. She gave them no more thought as she turned to look out of the window to find the sun shining through. It was daytime already.

"_Welcome to Kyoto. We land in five minutes; hope you enjoyed your flight!" _The annoying lady on the announcing speakers announced.

* * *

By the time Orihime, Ulquiorra and Grimmjow reached their very expensive three-bedroom suite, Orihime was starving, wishing she had eaten what the flight attendant had offered. The living room was large, with a crimson and white theme. The sofa , rug and even the flat screen TV were red as blood, while the walls and carpet were white as snow. To the right was a kitchen that had a bar in front with a stove at its right. To the left were the three bedrooms and restrooms. When the trio walked in, they couldn't help but marvel at it. Orihime's house was this decorated, so she wasn't as new to this setting as Grimmjow and Ulquiorra were. Ulquiorra didn't find beauty in anything, so he barely spared the setting a second glance before going into his room, and Grimmjow to his. Grimmjow was slightly more sluggish than usual, and it bothered Orihime and Ulquiorra, whether Ulquiorra wanted to admit it or not. As soon as he got into his room, he crashed onto his bed.

"Grimmjow, what is your problem, we have work to do," Ulquiorra called him as he unpacked his things into his own closet.

"I'm really not feeling good and my head hurts like a bitch!" Grimmjow complained loudly into the mattress. Orihime suspected that he wasn't used to plane rides. She brushed off the thought as there was a knock at the door.

Orihime walked to the door and looked through the peephole to find a nervous- looking young hotel butler, perhaps a teenager looking at the door. He had short brown hair, and big red eyes that gave him such an innocent appearance. She opened the door, and his face immediately flushed.

"Um, h-hi, I'm Kasugai, and I'm your personal butler during your stay here at The Hilton. I-Is there a-anything I can – um get you?" He kept fidgeting, and while Orihime found it cute, it was kind of annoying.

"Um, no I think we're good, but thank you for asking," Orihime replied sweetly. The boy nodded, and scurried off, almost in a hurry. Orihime chuckled, and turned around to be face-to-face with Ulquiorra. Had this guy ever heard of personal space?

"Um excused me, but you're kind of in my way," Orihime brushed passed him. He stayed by the door for a moment, and then followed Orihime to the kitchen.

"Who was at the door?" He asked suspiciously.

"Oh, our butler, he asked if we needed anything, but I sent him on his way. He's kind of shy, so he looked scared when I opened the door. He was cute though," Orihime babbled, not noticing that Ulquiorra wasn't even listening, but was seated at the counter, eyebrows knitted in deep thought. "I didn't think you guys really needed anything, so I hope it's not a problem that I – Ulquiorra?"

Ulquiorra looked up at her, then got up and went to his room closing his door. _Strange man._

* * *

Orihime decided to check on Grimmjow, since he'd been too quiet for the past forty-five minutes. She walked down the hallway to Grimmjow's room and knocked. No answer. She knocked again. Still no answer.

She slowly opened the room door to find Grimmjow sprawled across the floor, breathing heavily, and his face red, eyes closed.

"Ulquiorra!" she called as she rushed to Grimmjow's aid. She lifted him up and he opened his eyes.

"Orihime?" He asked as if he wasn't sure. She could tell he had a fever by how warm he was, but she didn't know where he could have possibly gotten it from.

Ulquiorra burst into the room with Murcielago drawn and ready to fight. To his disappointment, he only found a woman holding a feverish Grimmjow.

"He has a fever," Orihime explained to Ulquiorra as he approached the two. Ulquiorra suggested that they simply drop him at the nearest hospital, and go get breakfast. Orihime didn't even argue.

* * *

After catching a good silent meal with her escort, they decided to check out the man who owed Aizen the money. Aizen had already set up a peaceful meeting for them to meet the man and discuss money, and if he didn't want to pay, then that's when force would be applied. _One hell of a first mission! _Orihime mentally screamed. She didn't even know what to do. She was sure that the man would have their weapons confiscated for the sake of keeping the meeting peaceful, or so he could kill them off and wave their heads in Aizen's face. The thought made Orihime shudder.

"Woman if you're cold, then perhaps you should have brought a jacket." Here came Ulquiorra's smart ass. Orihime simply scowled.

They began their short journey on foot since the building was only three blocks away. They walked mainly in silence, and it annoyed Orihime how this man could be so silent, so calm, so nonchalant, and not care about anybody else or their opinions. But to some degree, she admired it as well.

"Ulquiorra, I have a question," Orihime stated out of the blue. This had been on her mind for awhile, but she just never got the chance to ask him.

"Yes?" He asked, with a hint of interest in his voice.

"What's your story? I mean, what's your purpose of being here and doing what you do?"

She was met with silence, which she was kind of expecting. He wasn't an open book, and it was going to take a lot to get as much as his middle name out of him. He was a mystery to her; a mystery that she had vowed to solve.

"Do not ask questions that do not concern yourself."

That was unexpected. At least she had gotten the man to talk.

They reached the man's (his name was still anonymous to the both of them) work place, gave each other a look, and then proceeded in. At the front desk, Ulquiorra informed the woman behind the desk of his meeting, and she simply nodded toward the elevator. The man didn't even check to be sure that they really had an appointment, or even check for weapons like a smart man would. If the meeting was supposedly hostile, obviously they'd be expecting guns right? Orihime found this very strange, but didn't voice her opinion. As they approached the elevator, Orihime's stomach sank. Something wasn't right. This was going too smooth.

"4th floor," Ulquiorra relayed the message to Orihime. They headed toward the elevator, and pressed the button to go up to the fourth floor.

The elevator dinged three times before stopping at the fourth floor, and as soon as the door opened, they were greeted by Kasugai, the flight attendant lady, and two others, all with guns aimed at Orihime and Ulquiorra's heads.

They were set up from the beginning.

* * *

**A/N: **It would be really wrong of me to not update fast after these chapters, so I'm doing my best to update on time. But thanks for reading though! ^.^

Let me know what you guys think! =)


	9. Chapter 9

The Assassin: Chapter 9

**A/N: **Here's chapter 9 for you guys. =)

Enjoy!

* * *

"Drop your weapons now, or we fire," said the flight attendant lady. Orihime should've figured that the woman was in on this. It would explain why Grimmjow had gotten sick. He was, after all, the only one who had eaten anything on the plane. And speaking of the plane, if the woman was part of this since the plane, then how long ago was their target aware of their little "meeting"? Aizen had only just informed them that the meeting was in order. So was Aizen a part of this as well?

Orihime and Ulquiorra fished through their clothes for their concealed weapons, and dropped them onto the elevator floor. Ulquiorra glanced at Orihime through the corner of his eyes, as if he knew something that she didn't. _Oh gosh, is he in this, too?!_ Orihime's mind screamed in frustration. The prick had to know something. She avoided eye contact with him as they were guided out of the elevator, and down the hallway.

The Kasugai had his gun pressed firm against the back of Orihime's head in such a way that making the wrong move would cause him to reflexively shoot her. It wouldn't be the first time she'd have been shot in the back of her head . . .

* * *

_She hated these damn rookie missions. They had her inside one of Kuchiki's simulation rooms. She swore that everything she saw, felt, and heard were real. The pain was the realest thing of all. She had been stabbed in her arm, and she was bleeding more then she had ever in her life. All she had to fucking do, was run straight across the room, and grab that stupid teddy bear that held that stupid grin. It was only five yards away to begin with, but with almost every step she took, something negative happened. _

_Her first step activated a barrage of knives in which one had pierced her right arm. In her fifth step, the room began to fill with tear gas. She had nearly given up at this point, but was too determined and stubborn to give up when she should have. As soon as she had taken her tenth and last step before the bear, gunfire was everywhere from nowhere. One of the bullets had connected with the back of Orihime's head just as she grasped the teddy bear and landed face-first for the floor. The pain was the worst that she had ever experienced in her life. She was so sure she was going to die. Except the fact that it was a simulation, and right after it had ended, all pain ended and scars removed._

* * *

Orihime would love to forget her rookie days, but they held some sort of foundation of who she was now, so she never let it go.

They entered a large double-door room, not quite as large as back . . . home . . . but large nonetheless. They room was large and office-like, with a desk, office chair, file cabinets, and shelves that contained some decorative books. Behind the desk, in the chair sat a man who neither Orihime nor Ulquiorra could see; all they could identify, was his green coat.

She tried moving her eyes to see what face he was making, but then remembered the possibility that he could be working against her. The man turned around in his seat, and saw that half of his face was concealed beneath an unattractive green and white striped hat. He reminded her of those people who sat on their asses all day while everyone else did his dirty work. He didn't really look dangerous at all. Orihime couldn't help feeling disappointed and wondered why this man was feared so much when he was obviously glued to his chair with how lazy he was.

"Mr. Ulquiorra Schiffer and Ms. Orihime Inoue, I presume," the man said in an entertained voice. "I'm Kisuke Urahara. I want to deliver a message to Aizen. Tell him his money is now my money and he's not getting it back. And to be clear that he doesn't send reinforcements, I'll send you back in such horrible, disgusting states, that he wouldn't dare-"

Orihime felt the gun on the back of her head get relaxed as Urahara spoke – which meant Flight Attendant Lady's arms were getting tired, or she was really intent on listening to what her boss had to say, which was highly unlikely. Orihime ducked, and swept the woman's feet from under her and snatched up the gun and aimed it straight at Ulquiorra, who was on her left.

His eyes widened, as she pressed the gun against his temple.

"What is this?" Urahara asked, with a curious eyebrow. "Traitors . . . ooooooo this is good!"

He propped his elbows up on his desk with a child-like smile on his face, as if he were watching some show. But that didn't faze Orihime a bit. She heard the woman standing behind her, and whipped out a tiny pistol from her bra to aim it at Urahara.

"I kind of figured nobody would check there when searching for weapons," Orihime explained with a shrug. Nobody moved when she aimed the gun at Urahara. However, most of her attention was on Ulquiorra. "I'm so tired of you, and your piss-ass attitude Ulquiorra. You act so aloof, when I know you have something to hide. So you can either spill it now, or I kill you."

She saw Ulquiorra smirk._ Huh?_ He elbowed Kasugai, then grabbed the kid's head and threw him over his shoulder with no effort. He picked up the boy's gun, and aimed it at the closet to his right. He completely disregarded her threat and remained focused on the closet. _What's he doing?_ She removed her aim from Ulquiorra, and joined him at aiming at the closet

Yoruichi stepped out from behind the closet with her hands raised.

"My, my Ulquiorra, aren't you as perceptive as ever?" she said with a smile. Yoruichi was Soi Fon's best friend and she was often in the room with Soi Fon when Orihime walked in. Yoruichi was the only other person who had Soi Fon wrapped around their tiny finger. Too bad Orihime fucked that up.

"Hey, Yoruichi," Orihime greeted her as if they weren't enemies.

"I have an idea," Yoruichi offered. This was never good. Yoruichi was very crafty, and Orihime wouldn't trust her deal for anything. "How about we settle this without guns. Hand-to-hand combat. One-on-one. If I win, you leave without the money, and you deliver the message. If you win, you take the money, and none of this ever happened. What do you say?"

Orihime had to admit that that sounded like a pretty damn good deal. The only problems were that Yoruichi had a catch to everything she made a deal on, and Orihime had never fought the woman personally. But it was worth the shot.

Orihime dropped her guns, and she noticed Ulquiorra eye her out of the corner of his eye as he dropped his own weapon and stood back, glaring at the flight attendant woman, as if daring her to do something.

The room was quite spacey, and had plenty of room to fight. They made their way to the center of the room and got into fighting stances with their hands connected. Orihime waited for Yoruichi to move, but didn't expect it when Yoruichi moved her front leg to slightly sweep Orihime enough for her to lose focus, and then landed a quick punch to her face that had her stumbling back.

"Don't hold back Hime."

Orihime looked up, nose bleeding. _No holding back . . . okay._

Orihime dashed for Yoruichi, but when she saw Yoruichi's punch coming, she spun off it and back fisted her in the back of her head. Yoruichi was knocked forward slightly at the force, which gave Orihime the opportunity to kick her dead in her spine. A loud pop was heard throughout the room as Yoruichi crashed into the floor. But just as quickly as she hit the floor, she was up on her feet. Orihime could tell that she was in severe pain, and felt a little sorry. She never had any trouble with Yoruichi, and didn't really want to hurt her, but now wasn't the time to feel biased about it.

Yoruichi crouched into some kind of position that was so familiar, and it wasn't until she dashed at Orihime at an almost inhuman speed that Orihime realized what that form was: The Crouching Snake; a deadly form that only the Stealth Ops use before assaulting their opponents with-

Yoruichi stabbed Orihime in the center of her stomach with a tiny black shuriken that had purple tips. When Orihime looked at her stomach, she found the Black Star of Death etched onto it. She looked up at Yoruichi and sank to her knees from the impact of the stab. The poison hadn't been activated yet. But if Yoruichi stabbed her again in the same spot, she would surely die. Orihime knew she couldn't trust Yoruichi to play by the damn rules.

Yoruichi gave her a look of apology, and then crouched down to Orihime's level to look her in the eye.

"You –"Orihime coughed out blood,"-you s-said –"

"I said hand-to-hand combat. A knife counts sweety."

Orihime met Yoruichi's eyes. Then two, almost simultaneous, stabs could be heard. Yoruichi smiled, and stroked Orihime's hair.

"I always knew you were special, and held so much promise Hime. I forgave you when no one else accepted you. And I still forgive you." She planted a kiss on Orihime's forehead before coughing out blood, and falling over lifelessly, where everyone could see one of Yoruichi's own shurikens in her stomach. Orihime had snuck one of the daggers while she was talking.

Orihime coughed out some more before standing and glancing at Urahara, who now wore a dark expression. But as soon as he spoke, he spoke in a cheery voice as if nothing had happened; as if Yoruichi's blood wasn't draining into his carpet.

"Well, a deal's a deal, so let's get you your money."

Urahara pulled down one of the books on the shelves, and it opened revealing stacks on stacks of money. Urahara pulled out a large bag that Orihime estimated weighed about five to six pounds.

He gave it to Ulquiorra, who took it without a word, but instead handed it to Orihime.

"If that'll be all, you best be on your way," Urahara said as he closed the shelves.

Orihime and Ulquiorra nodded and headed out of the door.

* * *

Ulquiorra and Orihime stopped by the hospital on the way back to the hotel to check on Grimmjow, who was actually ready to be released.

"Man, you all took on the action without me," Grimmjow complained on the way back to the hotel, after Ulquiorra filled him in on what happened.

"If you had not been such a glutton, then perhaps you would have been able to participate," was Ulquiorra's smartass reply.

"Ulquiorra, say something else and I will stuff you in the bag with the money!" Grimmjow threatened the tiny little sucker.

Orihime however didn't take part in their argument. She never did, however, at the moment she didn't even want to hear it. Her mind was on Yoruichi's last words and death. Yoruichi was like a mentor to Orihime, and Orihime never fathomed a world without her. She knew full well that she had broken all connections with Seireitei the day she joined the opposing force. But there were some people she realized she couldn't let go. She couldn't give Aizen her utmost devotion.

"Woman, I believe you have the key."

Ulquiorra's words broke her from her thoughts, as she realized that they had already arrived at the hotel.

"Oh . . . Right."

She fished into her purse for the key, unlocked the door and entered the hotel, which appeared to be the same as when they left it, however, Ulquiorra still took the liberty of searching for things that may have been out of place.

While to everyone else, it seemed that Orihime had taken Yoruichi's life. But it was Yoruichi who had stabbed herself with her own blade. In the end, Yoruichi couldn't bring herself to kill Orihime, and vice versa. That was most likely the reason Urahara had let them off so easily. He knew the truth as well.

Orihime decided to take a shower and let out the tears that hadn't fallen in years.

* * *

"You think they fell for it?"

"Definitely. Ulquiorra looked a little suspicious, but I don't think he knew what happened."

A chuckle. "Did you really meant what you said in the end though?"

There was a long silence before an answer finally came. "Every word."

* * *

**A/N: **I hope that wasn't too bad; I don't think I'm good with action scenes so, just let me know how it was.


	10. Chapter 10

The Assassin: Chapter 10

* * *

Orihime wandered aimlessly through the sandy lands of this unknown desert. She had been there for maybe a few hours. The last thing she remembered was 'Ulquiorra's' hands curled around her neck, choking her to death. Somehow, she lived through that; she was absolutely sure that he was finally going to end her then and there. She still couldn't figure out where the hell she was or how she got there. All she wanted was to go home and forget that any of this ever happened.

As she followed the moon, she saw a very, _very_ distant dome that had to be at least two miles away. Her curiosity piqued, she began to run to the dome in hopes of some humanoid life form that could maybe explain to her where the hell she was, how the hell she got there, and how the hell she could get out of there.

As she got closer and closer to the place, she noticed that there was an accumulation of more bone-dry trees and sand dunes. Some of the dunes had an indention of a body in them, like someone had either been sleeping there, or they had been slammed there – Orihime figured the latter. She just kept running, slowing down to a speed-walk every once in awhile to catch her breath, but she never stopped.

She kept running, and running, and running, and running, but she seemed to never get close. It always stayed at the same distance and would never get closer to Orihime. So she stopped completely to catch her breath.

"Hueco Mundo is pretty cruel, isn't it?" Orihime heard a deep, yet cool voice that sounded oddly familiar to her. She turned around to meet a man that had familiar electric blue hair and beautiful azure eyes. The difference was he wore some white outfit that seemed attached to his body, minus the collar. He also had white jagged edges protruding from his forearms, and a hole where his stomach should be.

"Grimmjow!" Orihime could almost hug the man, but then remembered Ulquiorra's reaction to her knowing him and thought twice about it.

"Well what do you know? I am so famous, even my lunch knows my name," he bragged. "You have a fair amount of spiritual pressure, and look pretty tasty."

Orihime backed away slowly, eyes wide. This was the second time she heard something about spiritual pressure, but this time she was sure she wasn't going to live to find out what he meant.

"What are you doing, Sexta?"

Grimmjow sighed and turned around to find the bat man standing behind him, glaring with hostility.

"Hmm, dinner and a snack; my lucky day," Grimmjow chuckled with a lopsided grin.

"I do believe that you rank below me, Sexta," Ulquiorra growled threateningly, his tail swishing back and forth impatiently, his wings reverberating as if he were about to take off.

"Oooo, ominous as always," Grimmjow said in mock fear, "However, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to protect this pathetic little wench."

Orihime's browed furrowed at this. She knew she didn't have the right to say anything, given her situation and how weak she was here, but she couldn't stop herself from retorting back.

"Excuse me?" Orihime stepped up to Grimmjow, making both of them look at her as if she just lost her mind. "I am not a 'pathetic little wench'." She shook even as she said it. But she didn't stop.

"Ulquiorra is not protecting me; I protect myself, and I don't need anybody else to do it for me, so you can shut your trap!"

Ulquiorra glared at her with a blank expression, and Grimmjow stared at her with an eyebrow raised. He and Ulquiorra shared a glance that gave her Déjà vu. Then they both stared at her.

"Well, if my meal's got balls, then why don't I play with her first," Grimmjow quipped. Orihime swallowed. She wasn't going to back down from the fight, but she knew she wasn't going to win.

Grimmjow dashed forward at a speed similar to Ulquiorra's, but Orihime was prepared for it and sidestepped out of the way to kick him in his back. He stumbled forward and turned around in surprise as Orihime assumed a fighting stance. He chuckled and walked toward her. Orihime punched dead in face – hard. But she was surprised to feel that her hand hurt a lot more than his face did. She backed up shaking her sore hand out as he continued to approach her. She turned on her heel and ran off as fast as she could. _What the fuck is he? Just where in the hell am I?!_

She felt Grimmjow grab her from behind and lift her completely off the sand. She kicked and squirmed, and eventually rolled out of his grip. She did a backward roll to land swiftly onto her feet after the drop, but as soon as she stood, he was on her again. She did a backward somersault to attempt to gain more distance between them, but he grabbed her legs as she was going over, causing her arms to crumple beneath her and land on her head. She breathed heavily as Grimmjow grabbed her by her hair and lifted her of the ground. Orihime squeezed her eyes shut in pain.

"Like I said, you never stood a chance," Grimmjow stated, before throwing her across the sandy lands. Orihime tumbled over and got sand all in her mouth and eyes. She coughed and gagged as she looked up to see Ulquiorra standing back, arms folded, tail swishing, and face blank. She slowly raised her arm to reach out for him, and then blacked out.

* * *

Orihime awoke and rubbed her eyes to the sunlight that glared in her face. Strange. She never left her blinds open overnight. _Ugh, probably Grimmjow messing with me again._ Orihime brushed it off as she got up and dressed for breakfast with her housemates. Two months had passed since her first mission with Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, and since then, they developed a kind a friendship that no one else could seem to understand. Orihime had learned the basis of the place and gained an understanding, and actually liked the place. She learned that all of the members were ranked in skill, from one to ten. It was a pretty simple system, and not as complicated as it was at Seireitei. She even made a joke in front of everyone about Aizen being ranked zero. Not everyone found it so amusing that she still casually addressed their leader as if they were friends, but since Aizen laughed, they let it go. She had gained Aizen's trust, and was able to fully roam the mansion as she pleased as long as she didn't violate anyone else's privacy, which was simple enough.

Orihime had been having those strange dreams in the desert about once every two weeks and while some ended peacefully, others had ended with a bang. She was getting used to trekking that desert and not knowing how the hell she got there, and even though she didn't know what the dreams meant, they didn't bother her as mush as they had used to. That was her first dream with Grimmjow though. She began to wonder if she was in some alternate reality that she could only enter in her deepest sleeps. Even though she considered it, she never told anyone about it, and she decided that sometime in the near future, she would talk to Starrk about it since he played some kind of father-figure to her since she had been there. She just didn't have the guts at the moment.

At the dining room, everyone was buzzing about something, that apparently, Orihime had missed. She saw a group huddled around something that she couldn't see.

"That's cool!"

"Congratulations!"

"When is it?!"

Orihime walked up closer to the group and found Tier Halibel, and Coyote Starrk who had a vibrant smile on his face. She could tell Halibel was smiling because of the creases at her temples, but she couldn't actually see the woman's face because her outfit was so high up on her face. She knew they had been dating for awhile now, because Starrk had informed her. She guessed that they had finally decided to make their relationship public.

"What's going on?" Orihime asked the closest person, Szayelaporro Granz, the crude scientist of the group. She stared at the happy couple as they spoke to the others around them.

"Starrk has just proposed to Halibel, and she said yes," Granz replied, not sounding too happy about the arrangement. "She only likes him and wants to marry him because he's ranked number one, and he likes her," he added with a scoff, and walked off.

Orihime shrugged him off and returned her attention to the fiancés, slightly disappointed that Starrk hadn't informed her that he was going to propose.

"We haven't decided on a date yet, but we'll let you know when we do," Starrk informed them, turning to his fiancé to smooch her temple, earning himself a blush. Orihime smiled at them, but noticed Ulquiorra and Grimmjow walking off in another direction. She approached Starrk and Halibel and gave them each a hug.

"Congratulations, you'll make some pretty babies," Orihime remarked with a wink, earning uncomfortable chuckles from the couple, and laughter from the others. Then she turned and followed Grimmjow and Ulquiorra.

". . . I know that's what I'm saying. He's been going off on his own a bit lately, and I think he's up to something."

Grimmjow and Ulquiorra were discussing something serious, and Orihime didn't want her elated mood ruined by more serious business, so she turned to leave, but they had already seen her.

"Woman," Ulquiorra called to her softly, almost whispering. Orihime stopped and turned to see Grimmjow and Ulquiorra looking at her. She never knew Ulquiorra to be sneaky, yet this was exactly what he was doing. "What are you doing?"

"I was just leaving, don't worry, your secret's safe with me," she assured them both, though she was slightly curious as to what they were just discussing.

"Come here."

She didn't know what is was, but something about the way he said it made her think that maybe this was serious.

"Gin Ichimaru has been sneaking around lately and Grimmjow finds it rather suspicious," Ulquiorra said seriously. "I do not care what the man does, yet if it is of actual importance to Grimmjow, then I suspect that something is amiss."

_Aww, he does care, whether he wants to admit it or not! _Orihime smiled to herself at the thought.

"Okay, so what is he going to do about it?" Orihime asked them, offering her assistance.

They gave each other a brief glance, and then turned back to her.

"Well, you see," Grimmjow started uneasily," Ulquiorra always looks like he's suspecting something, so he'll draw attention to himself if he were to actually investigate this."

Orihime raised an eyebrow, catching a hint as to where this was going.

"And Grimmjow," Ulquiorra started," has absolutely no sense of subtlety, or stealth."

Orihime took a step back shaking her head. "Oh, no! You're not going to put all of this on me . . . are you?"

"Well yeah, I mean, nobody would suspect you, you're . . . you!" Grimmjow exclaimed. Orihime didn't know whether or not to take that as a compliment.

"Okay, fine! What do I have to do?"

* * *

Orihime stood outside her room at ten-thirty-eight, awaiting Ulquiorra's instructions. She stood for what felt like hours before she heard the static of the other mic activating.

"Woman, can you hear me?" Ulquiorra's voice sounded over the mic.

Orihime sighed heavily. "Yes, I hear you. I do have a name you know."

"That is beside the point. Your target is exiting Lord Aizen's throne room, and is on the move. He's headed toward the back kitchen gates."

Orihime dashed down the long corridors to try and meet his location without being spotted. She turned left and right and landed at Aizen's room. She then followed Ichimaru in his footsteps. She figured that the best way to track the guy was to follow him rather than to find her own way to him.

When she finally reached the kitchen gates, she slowly pushed open the door, and spotted Ichimaru walking casually into the garden. She began to think that Grimmjow was really being paranoid now. He looked like he was minding his own business, and just admiring the pretty flowers in the garden. It didn't seem like him or something he would do, but everyone has their secrets, and personal things that they like to keep to themselves. She then felt more like she was spying on the man for nothing.

"Woman, he is out of camera range, now is the time."

She decided it wasn't worth it to watch him, so she turned to leave, but then heard a rustle in the bushes. She turned back around and found another dark figure in the garden. She crept outside the kitchen, and into the back yard, just outside the garden, and peered into the garden at the figure. It was hooded, but definitely feminine.

Orihime squinted her eyes for a better look, and when the woman turned slightly, Orihime caught a glimpse of red hair so similar to her own, and realized immediately who it was. The figure inched closer to Ichimaru, until there was no distance between them, and their silhouetted faces pressed firmly together. Orihime jerked out of view, and dashed quietly back into the kitchen. Ichimaru was seeing Rangiku Matsumoto.

"Woman, what happened?" Ulquiorra's voice sounded in her ear as she came back into camera view.

She yanked the earphone out of her ear and walked back into her own room, and was sound asleep.

* * *

**A/N: **I apologize for the late updates and all, but I'm a busy girl, and I barely have time with the story. I also write as I go, which is bad because I noticed that I contradict the story sometimes, so I try to go back and fix those.

By the way . .. IF you don't like the story, please go away and those who do, I really appreciate you guys. If you don't have anything nice or constructive to say, then please don't say it. Thanks guys, you're awesome! :D

R&R! Bye!


	11. Chapter 11

The Assassin: Chapter 11

* * *

Orihime sat up in the sandy deserts once again, this time surrounded by blood – and it wasn't her own. She found an unconscious Grimmjow lying far off away from her. She could already guess what happened and felt insipidly foolish and embarrassed because of how she had disregarded him and the assistance that he had silently offered. She gathered herself and stood to have a beautifully, yet deadly familiar sword pushed against her neck – _Murcielago. _

"Ulquiorra, I'm sorry for dissing you and your help," Orihime started, and felt the pressure of the sword relieve a little. "I need your help more than anything else right now. Will you help me?"

Ulquiorra held his sword at her throat for a few more moments before removing it and turning around. Orihime turned around to face him. He was covered in battle cuts and scrapes and bruises from his fight with Grimmjow. She began to feel even worse, even though she knew she was in a worse state than he was.

"This is no place for you," he stated with his back turned to her. "I do not know where you come from or how you came to this place. But I do know that if you do not learn to control your spiritual pressure, you will get us both killed."

Orihime's face went up into a frown. "Then teach me."

He turned around to face her and put his sword. He had some sort of expression on his face that she could not read, but she knew it wasn't a positive one.

"That is something that you must achieve on your own. My spiritual pressure is quite contrary to your own."

Orihime's head lowered. She had never felt so hopeless and helpless in her life. She had always been able to defend herself and fight back. But here, she was weak and had no dominion over anything. And she didn't like it.

"Then help me control it! Guide me in the right direction, something!" Orihime yelled in frustration. "I need to live, I need to survive! I hate feeling helpless!"

"You are afraid."

"No I'm not!"

"Say that you are afraid."

Orihime knew she was afraid. But she had never admitted that to a soul in her life. But the fact that she was lying to herself was making everything worse.

Ulquiorra's eyes softened at her. "You are going to die in this place, woman. And there will be nothing you can do about it.

Orihime snapped up at his words. She wasn't going to die. She couldn't. She wasn't ready.

"No I won't! I refuse to believe that! I'm not going to die!" Her frustration and anger increased with every word she yelled. "I reject that!"

Suddenly, her hands began to glow, and six tiny orange orbs flew from her hands before her that radiated some sort of orange-white sparks. Her bruises and cuts began to visibly heal, and she felt replenished and energized. Then they surrounded Ulquiorra, and the same happened for him. He simply stared at her, with his eyes wide, as he had never seen such ability before. Orihime looked just as surprised, unsure of how any of that had occurred.

After the glowing orbs were finished healing them both, they returned to her hands and glowed no more. Orihime stared at her hands, and then back at Ulquiorra.

"Is – is that my spiritual pressure?" Orihime asked dumbly, as she was still in a daze.

Ulquiorra simply ignored her question and began walking in the opposite direction.

"Do I get a thank you?" Orihime asked smiling and getting cocky, following him.

"That was an accident. I am not grateful for unintentional acts, whether they are to my benefit or not."

Orihime's smile disappeared along with her cockiness.

* * *

Orihime awoke and stretched, feeling great. She had realized that her dreams were somehow connected to her real life. She was a fearful person. She was always afraid to be afraid, and ask for help. She had always preferred to work alone. She was always an ass with people because of that. She realized that it just because she was strong, she couldn't handle everything and that asking for and accepting help didn't make her weak.

Orihime sat up and decided that a good ass shower was in order. Orihime showered and combed her hair out as she heard a knock at her door. She was surprised when she didn't hear a demanding voice on the other side warning her of an entrance. And she was even more so surprised when she opened the door to reveal a Grimmjow and an Ulquiorra.

"Can I help you?"

"Well I don't know you kind of stormed off last night after your little adventure," Grimmjow stated, arms folded across his chest.

Orihime rolled her eyes. "Come on in."

Ulquiorra and Grimmjow made their way into her room and sat down on her plain couch and awaited her explanation. Orihime began contemplating on whether or not she should tell them what had happened last night, but she honestly loved Rangiku, and didn't have any issues with Ichimaru.

"Ulquiorra was right," Orihime started," it was a goose chase."

Grimmjow and Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow at her choice of words.

"I meant it was all for nothing," Orihime said impatiently. "The guy went into the back garden and started watering the flowers and staring at them. He just has an infatuation with the garden. Probably has a personal memory back there." Orihime thought that sounded like a legitimate excuse.

Grimmjow scoffed. Ulquiorra's eyes narrowed. _He knows I'm lying, _Orihime thought in a panic.

"So why did you storm off?" Grimmjow asked. Ulquiorra seemed to have been thinking the same question.

Orihime turned around. "I felt like I was invading his privacy; you know watching something personal that maybe he doesn't want anyone else to know about. We all have our secrets." It wasn't a complete lie.

Grimmjow looked at Ulquiorra, who kept a firm eye on Orihime.

"Maybe the old prick was right this time," Grimmjow admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm hungry so I'm going to the dining room." He then left Orihime and Ulquiorra alone, muttering something about being stuck at the table with two love birds.

Ulquiorra stared at her for a few moments before speaking.

"Are you willing to reveal to truth of what you had honestly witnessed that night?" Ulquiorra asked condescendingly. The way he glared at her sent a mix of déjà vu, fear, and defiance through her.

"It's like I said Mr. Schiffer, we all have our secrets. I'm sure there are plenty of things you know, that you would never share with anyone," Orihime responded confidently. "Don't' expect to get anything that you don't give out."

Ulquiorra's eyes widened for a split second before he rose from her couch and slowly brushed past her on his way out of her room. Orihime stood rooted for a moment, realizing that she had beaten Ulquiorra at his little psychological war for the first time.

* * *

"Ms. Inoue and Mr. Schiffer, I have another assignment for you."

Orihime and Ulquiorra stood before Aizen's throne awaiting further instructions. This would be her fourth mission now with Hogyoku. And given all the danger and suspense, she couldn't see herself ever going back to those simple ass missions she used to go through.

"Someone is going around and killing my men around the eastern border between Karakura Town, and Las Noches. I want you to find out who, and why, and I want them eliminated as soon as you gather that information. Am I clear?"

Orihime and Ulquiorra both nodded simultaneously and made their way out of the room. They walked through the hallways in dead silence that just kills Orihime every time.

"Is it me, or did Mr. Aizen look a little more than upset?" Orihime asked filling the silence.

"He would obviously be agitated that his people are dying, would you not think?" Ulquiorra asked her in a matter-of-factly tone.

Orihime shrugged. "I'm just trying to kill the silence."

"There are other ways, such as asking sensible questions that do not test my patience."

Orihime was quiet for a minute before bursting out in laughter. Ulquiorra stopped to see what had amused the woman, and was immediately annoyed to find that he had done so.

"Oh my gosh!" Orihime laughed, tears streaming down her face. "You do have a sense of humor!"

Ulquiorra stared at the woman, wondering if that was a complement or an insult.

"Woman, if such simplistic things will cause you to laugh, then I see you as a hazard on missions."

Orihime had finally calmed down when they reached the garage. They walked around all the expensive cars: a Camaro, a Benz, a Jag, a Bugatti, and a Challenger. Ulquiorra pulled out his keys and pressed his car alarm button. Orihime grew excited, wondering which one they were going to ride in. _Meep, meep!_

"Ah there it is." Ulquiorra began walking toward the back of the garage, an excited Orihime in his footsteps. Excited, until they reached a small silver Volvo. Orihime stopped in her tracks.

"You've got to be kidding me," Orihime said, dumbfounded.

Ulquiorra kindly opened the passenger side of the car for her to enter. Orihime sulked as she sat in the passenger seat and opened the opposite door for Ulquiorra.

"So why can't we ride in a _real _car?" Orihime asked, pouting slightly.

"We are on a mission, not vacation." Ulquiorra started the car, and Orihime could smell the gas burning in the car as Ulquiorra backed out of the parking lot.

"I guess this will be okay," Orihime gave in, "under on condition."

Ulquiorra stopped the car, as he was far enough out of the lot, and looked at her.

"You have to let me drive the Challenger."

* * *

**A/N: **A really short one this time, and sorry if the story doesn't seem to flow, but trust me in the end, it'll all make sense . . . I hope. *.*

But thanks readers and reviewers, I really appreciate you guys. =)


	12. Chapter 12

The Assassin: Chapter 12

* * *

Orihime's head slammed into the passenger window as the car came to an abrupt stop. Her eyes snapped open, a little sleep caked around her eyes, and hair slightly disheveled. Her head snapped in Ulquiorra's direction as she was prepared to go completely off on him, until she realized he had pulled over on the side of the road and fallen asleep himself. The border between Karakura Town and Las Noches was a six hour drive, and Orihime had thought that her little robot could handle it.

Her glare softened as she watched him; his guard was down, he looked innocent, a little pitiful in a way that made her want to just want to give the poor guy a hug; his hair fell forward into his face a little, his lips were parted as he softly inhaled and exhaled, and his hands were sliding off the steering wheel. Orihime snapped out of her daze.

Orihime pushed the emergency light button on the car so they wouldn't get a ticket. She began to gently nudge Ulquiorra awake.

"Ulquiorra, wake up." Silence.

She started pushing him harder, to where he was shaking noticeably.

"Ulquiorra, come on, wake up!" A small snore. _How adorable! _At least she was getting somewhere.

She stopped pushing him and huffed, blowing hair out of her face. She then decided to try the impossible. She grabbed Ulquiorra's right arm with her right hand, and wriggled her left arm between him and the seat to grab his left arm. She lifted him with some effort, and scooted across the arm rest to get underneath him. Her foot got caught on something.

"Oh you've got to be fucking me!" Orihime squirmed uncomfortably, kicking to get her foot free, and ended up kicking off her shoe. She scooted completely underneath Ulquiorra so that he was on her lap, and began pushing Ulquiorra to the passenger seat. She pushed him all the way over, and adjusted him in a way that at least seemed comfortable. She took a second behind the wheel to catch her breath, and then looked back at Ulquiorra. She reached across his seat over him to pull the lever to recline his seat.

"Woman, what are you doing?" Orihime snapped up and hit the other side of her head on the driver's window.

"Ulquiorra, you mother fucker!" Orihime massaged her sore head. Ulquiorra was back on guard, and looked as if he hadn't been sleep for the past ten minutes. "I was trying to recline your seat so you'd be more comfortable!"

Ulquiorra looked at their switched positions, and the look on his face showed Orihime that he was thinking of how she got him into that seat.

"Woman, did you touch me?" Orihime realized that he was a touchaphobic. Nobody touched him without getting their finger chopped off.

"Don't flatter yourself," Orihime flipped her hair sarcastically. "I had to move you if we were to keep going. You just go ahead and get some rest and I'll drive us the rest of the way." Orihime looked at him seriously, though she doubted that he'd trust her enough to go to willingly go to sleep, but was surprised when he reclined his chair, turned over, and went to sleep.

She smiled to herself.

* * *

Orihime pulled up to a hotel, woke Ulquiorra and they checked into the hotel. It was late. They were both rested, for the most part. It was the perfect time to go sneaking around.

Orihime headed straight for the shower. As she stood beneath the steaming hot water, she wondered what the others were doing. She rarely ever saw the others go on missions. Whenever something came up, Aizen would choose, her, Ulquiorra, and Grimmjow. She didn't know if it was a trust thing, or he simply favored them. This was her first mission without Grimmjow, though, which actually wasn't too strange. Grimmjow had been getting on Aizen's nerves for a minute now.

She heard a knock on the door.

"Woman, please hurry, we do not have all night."

"My name is Orihime!" Orihime yelled back over the shower noise, and then turned it off as she finished. She wrapped herself in a towel and walked out of the bathroom, and into her room to change. She kicked her door closed and began digging through the closet for something to wear. Orihime heard the bathroom door close as Ulquiorra went in for his shower. Literally five seconds later, the bathroom reopened, Ulquiorra opened the door to Orihime's room, and walked in, throwing her old clothes onto her floor. Orihime squeezed her towel against herself.

"Woman, I advise that you not leave your clothes in the restroom after you bathe," Ulquiorra stated, unfazed by Orihime's current state.

"Do you mind?! Have you ever heard of knocking?" Orihime yelled, shooing him out.

"Your body does not appeal to me," Ulquiorra stated as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Orihime frowned. So he didn't think she was pretty? _I don't care, his opinion doesn't count anyway!_

* * *

Ulquiorra and Orihime, clad in black, stalked around the River Industry that separated Karakura Town from Las Noches. They found several of Aizen's men scattered around and armed. They were on high alert, obviously knowing that their coworkers have been dying more frequently lately. Neither Orihime nor Ulquiorra thought it would be a good idea to announce their presence, because then the assassin would be aware as well, and most likely not come out of hiding.

Orihime and Ulquiorra waited for something out of place, but nothing happened. They waited, and waited, and waited.

"So . . . did you sleep well?" Orihime asked, determined to pass the time.

Ulquiorra glanced at her then back at the men wandering the industry. "I fear that the moment I speak, you will find something insipidly amusing, and blow the whole mission."

Orihime was taken aback. "You really believe that I would break down in the middle of a very crucial mission?"

"Why should I not?"

"When have I ever?"

"We never speak on missions."

Orihime pressed her lips together and returned her own attention to the industry. "You must think very low of me."

Ulquiorra looked at her. "Not that I think of you, rather than referring to a past experience."

Orihime chuckled, eyes still on the mission. "I'll – there!"

She pointed to a dark figure sneaking along the canal, and out of sight of the over-suspicious mercenaries. It climbed over the gate and up behind one of the men. Orihime and Ulquiorra were already on it. They sped along the fence and made their way over it, Orihime with a soft thump, and Ulquiorra with dead silence. _How the hell does he do it?_

They reached the man that the dark figure had approached, but they were too late. He was already dead.

"Damn it!" Orihime whispered under her breath. She looked around for the figure but couldn't find him, and when she turned back, Ulquiorra was gone as well. She didn't want to risk calling out for him, but it was dangerous for them to be separated unless Ulquiorra really knew what he was doing. So Orihime waited.

"Don't move, Orihime." Orihime felt a gun to the back of her head. She'd know that voice any fucking where.

"Ichigo . . ." The gun pressed harder into her skull. Orihime knew he wasn't going to shoot her, so she stood and turned around to face him. He had the gun aimed for her face now. "Put the gun down."

Ichigo was too, in all black, except he had a mask covering his face, with small pieces of his hair sticking out of the front. "I was ordered to shoot on sight; do you really think I'm going to put this down?"

Orihime's look softened. "You've already disobeyed your orders, so why not?"

Ichigo's eyes widened, but he shook it off. "Why, Orihime? We, you, me and Rukia could have been an amazing trio. Why did you abandon us?"

Orihime looked down. She really wasn't sorry she left, but watching his pitiful face, and how he masked his sorrow made her feel a little bad for the people she left behind; the people who truly meant the world to her.

"Ichigo, don't hand me the bull. You were one of the main ones in for me to go. 'I was a danger to our missions', 'I make a mess of things', and so on. I'm finally in a place where it's okay to do those things, and I can be praised for my hard work rather than criticized on some tiny error. I'm not going to lie and say that I didn't enjoy the few moments I had with you all-" Orihime stepped back a step "-but I'm not going to lie and say I miss them either."

She stepped forward with a snap kick to his stomach, causing him to stumble back and drop his gun. Orihime kicked his gun away and did a dive roll in front of him and began throwing punches. He blocked all but a few punches and eventually dodged away from her flurry.

With some distance between the two Orihime began weighing her options. She'd never fought Ichigo, so she didn't exactly know his style. He was right handed so he was more likely to throw a right punch or kick, so Orihime decided to go for his weak side; the left. They circled each other before a cry was heard.

"We got two of them right here!"

Ichigo and Orihime both looked at the man who was shouting, but realized that he wasn't talking about them. In the distance, were two other figures, one was Ulquiorra and the other Orihime didn't know.

"Rukia!" Ichigo hissed under his breath. He dashed in her direction careful to stay hidden. Orihime simply walked toward the pair as Ulquiorra grabbed Rukia and twisted her around with her hands behind her back against his chest. He nodded at Orihime and they both walked into the light.

"Mr. Schiffer! Ms. Inoue!"

Orihime turned around to give Ichigo a quiet look, but he was already gone. She joined Ulquiorra and Rukia and motioned for him to follow her.

"Let me go! Orihime you bitch!" Rukia continued to curse at Orihime, but her words were deaf to her.

"Why are you sneaking around our compound, killing off our men?" Ulquiorra asked Rukia for the hundredth time. "Does this benefit your society in any fashion?"

Orihime rolled her eyes. He wasn't going to get anything out of her this way.

"Ulquiorra, have a seat," Orihime said in a tone so dark and demanding, that both he and Rukia stared at her for a moment. But he sat down nonetheless.

Orihime stood before Rukia now. "How's it going Rukia? Are you and Ichigo still going out?"

Ulquiorra's expression began to take a bored hint.

Rukia stared at Orihime, with her hands tied behind her chair before the table, contemplating on whether she should answer that or not.

"No. He's with Tatsuki now."

Orihime's eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, are you serious?! I never thought he'd go that far!"

"I know right! I mean I she's not that far a step down from me. She hits on him when he says stupid things, and laughs when he gets serious, and . . . yeah, I guess this is what you felt like when I took him from you." She gave Orihime a half-grin.

Orihime gave her a small smile. "It was okay. I was upset at first, but then I realized how perfect you were for each other. But after he just up and left you behind today, I began to think otherwise."

"We've been having serious issues ever since Soi Fon and Yoruichi split Soi Fon's division between the two of them last week."

Orihime's ears perked up at Yoruichi. She was still alive? Orihime's heart skipped a beat in joy. "Yoruichi? My old mentor is still there after all. I miss her so much."

"Yeah she's been around more often for couple months, and now she's a boss in the same division as Soi Fon. It was weird but we adjusted. Then they started training new people for the job, and while I thought it was a good idea, Ichigo strongly disagreed. That's when our relationship began going downhill. I swear he's so thick-headed sometimes . . ."

Orihime's head was swarming with this information. It made sense. They were expanding the Stealth Force so they could plan an invasion into the Las Noches compound, and eventually into the Hogyoku Mansion. Rukia didn't even know how helpful she'd really been, and Orihime could not bury all of her guilt for tricking her. It didn't matter how wrong they had all done her. She couldn't let them go completely.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go Rukia, tell everyone I said hi." With that Orihime stood and Ulquiorra followed. They walked in the hallway in silence as usual, but Orihime's air was far darker than Ulquiorra's at the moment, and it unnerved him to no end.

"Woman, we have what we came for, this is not the time for regrets, or reminiscence," Ulquiorra stopped and faced Orihime. He could see the tears building up in her eyes. It was strange. He had only seen her tough exterior, but to see her break sent a strange emotion through him – sympathy.

"I know, I know, but-"Orihime turned around to wipe her tears, embarrassed to be crying in front of him. He didn't need to see her cry. "I don't expect you to understand, but I can't let them go."

She calmed and wiped the three tears that fell, then turned back to Ulquiorra and embraced him. Ulquiorra found himself hugging her back, as unfamiliar a sensation as that was for him, and against his shoulder, she let her tears fall freely. He raised a hand to the back of her head and stroked her hair.

* * *

Back at the hotel, Orihime went straight to bed, leaving an Ulquiorra confused on the couch. He felt the strange desire to keep her happy, and comfortable; like he was to protect her. She wasn't that dependent, but he felt some obligation to be there when she did need someone. He decided that, subtly, he would do just that.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay so now we're seeing a little bitty Ulquihime blooming from this chapter. ^.^

R&R Love ya!


	13. Chapter 13

The Assassin: Chapter 13

**A/N: **Hi I'm back with chapter 13. I'm working on being ahead, so if it takes me longer to start updating chapters, you now know why.

Thank you my readers and reviewers, and those who like the story. You're the best. =)

* * *

Three days had passed since the episode with Ichigo and Rukia, and Orihime had barely spoken to anyone between that time; even the man who had comforted her. She was praying that he wouldn't tell Aizen her confession, and although it seemed unlike him to snitch, his loyalty to Aizen was unwavering. She hadn't had any dreams, and she was kind of hoping for some getaway from this life.

Orihime laid on her bed with her earphones in her ears, thinking of what punishments Aizen would dish out to her if Ulquiorra had told on her. So she didn't hear the knock on her door, or when Ulquiorra announced that he was coming in.

Orihime felt her music drain away from her and sat up immediately, as Ulquiorra stood over her with her earphones in his hands. Orihime thought in the back of her mind that it was strange how Ulquiorra walked in after knocking when he was alone, but when he was with Grimmjow, he knocked and waited for her to answer her door.

"Woman, you have been locked up in this room for days," He started, placing her earphones beside her. "It's disturbingly . . . dull without your presence at the breakfast table."

Orihime stared at him for a few seconds then turned over to face the wall. "You hate me, and you think I'm foolish because I still have feelings for my old friends."

Ulquiorra sighed. "I do not hate you, nor do I judge how you feel about those trash."

Orihime turned around so she could see his face to make sure he was serious. "So . . . you haven't told Aizen?"

Ulquiorra shook his head. Orihime smiled and gave the man a big hug. "I thought you put Aizen before everything . . ."

She didn't see his eyes widen at her words, but she felt him pull away.

"Will you stop wallowing in your sorrow?" Ulquiorra asked seriously. Orihime chuckled.

"Yes Ulquiorra."

She stared up at him with certainty, and they held that moment until they heard a sound at the door.

"Wow Ulquiorra, I didn't know you were such a dog," Grimmjow stood leaning against the door.

Ulquiorra broke complete contact with Orihime and walked toward Grimmjow, dragging the man out, and turning to give Orihime one last message.

"Lord Aizen has sent for us."

Orihime blinked and followed him.

* * *

They all sat gathered at the war room table awaiting Aizen to come from his throne room. Orihime had never been inside the war room, but it was similar to the throne room, with a table in the middle. Aizen had yet another throne in this room at the head of the table. As Orihime listened to the whispers and murmurs around her, she learned that there hadn't been a meeting in the war room in years.

Aizen emerged from his throne room with Tousen and Ichimaru at his sides, and they assumed their positions at his left and right at the table. As soon as they were seated, all the mutterings ceased.

"Thanks to my reliable man . . . and woman . . . Mr. Schiffer and Ms. Inoue, we have a hostage from Seireitei."

Several cheers and claps went around the table, and Orihime was honestly uncomfortable with the praise. It didn't feel right to her.

"And Ms. Inoue here managed to get some information from the hostage. Ms. Inoue, if you please."

Orihime froze at being put on the spot like that. She looked around the table before standing and beginning, not knowing exactly what to say.

"Well . . . The woman, Yoruichi Shihoin, is still alive after our fight a couple months back. She is trying to expand the Stealth Force and use them to possibly infiltrate the Hogyoku Mansion. I don't know exactly when, but I know that we should all be prepared when they come." She sat down, realizing at that moment that she was shaking. She hoped no one else noticed, and didn't think anyone did until Grimmjow gave her a curious look from across the table.

Aizen smiled, oblivious to her composure, and stood. "Even with the limited information that Ms. Inoue obtained, we can do a plethora of things with it. Mr. Szayel?"

Mr. Szayel stood from his chair beside Halibel. There was something about the man that Orihime did not like so she always tried her best to avoid him.

"I am at this moment trying to develop new weaponry that will benefit us greatly, and put us at an advantage to our enemies."

He took a remote from his pocket and aimed it at the back wall, and pressed a button. A large white screen emerged from the ceiling and lit up with pictures of small black guns.

"If you will please direct your attention to the screen, you will see two guns," Szayel chuckled. "But they aren't just any ordinary guns." Orihime sighed and put an elbow up on the table and rested her head on her open hand. He was acting like some business potential advertiser trying to get his product out there and sold. It was boring.

"These babies emit a black omega burst that punctures holes into its target, like so."

Two of his subordinates rolled in a cart that carried a prototype of the guns seen on the screen. Szayel lifted it off the cart. Orihime didn't fail to notice everyone take a deep breath and lean back slightly. She did the same.

"Jun," he nodded to one of the subordinates, and she raised a metal sheet about five yards from him. She stood to the side of the sheet so he could have a clear shot, just in case the gun blast went through the sheet. _Smart, _Orihime thought.

Szayel aimed the weapon for the sheet, and at the last second redirected his aim for Jun and shot the weapon. It literally released a black burst that went right through her side; her whole side, cutting her in two halves. Her top half fell off with the sheet, and the bottom half lingered for a moment before falling to its knees, and then to the floor.

"Oops, I missed!" Szayel let out a sound that sounded like something between a giggle and a cackle. Orihime's mouth fell open in bewilderment as she looked around the table. The rest of the group looked as if they had been expecting him to do something like that. Aizen simply smiled.

"Wonderful invention, Mr. Szayel, you do truly mean what you say," he said approvingly.

"Oh that's not all, Mr. Aizen, I-"

"Thank you, Szayel for your wonderful demonstration. We will make use of your product when the time comes."

Szayel shooed his subordinates away and moved back to his seat.

"I will be devising a plan for when that situation comes about," Aizen said finally. "We have one more issue. What shall we do with our hostage? Bait or execution?"

There was dead silence. "Bait it is then. We will execute her when her friends arrive."

Orihime's heart skipped a beat for the girl. She needed to see her. She needed to tell her how sorry she was. She needed to see her sweet round face one more time. She just needed-

"Ms. Inoue, is everything alright?"

Orihime looked up to see everyone staring at her. "I'm fine . . .I just . . ."

"She's just recovering from being ill," Ulquiorra stated from his seat beside her. Everyone shut up and kept their doubts to themselves. Orihime owed him. Again.

After the meeting Orihime was about to begin her journey back to her room, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Mr. Starrk.

"Orihime, I know when I see an upset child," he started. "No matter what it is, how bad it may seem, it's good to let it out and talk about it. I won't press you now because it's so fresh, but I expect to hear from you."

Orihime smiled and nodded at the man. Then turned to her room for some sleep.

* * *

Orihime and Ulquiorra tracked the lonely desert that Ulquiorra called, Hueco Mundo. She thought it meant something about death, but she wasn't sure. He hadn't spoken a word to her and she sort of felt the silence comforting. Their goal was to reach that big dome that Ulquiorra referred to as Las Noches. She didn't know why, but she believed it would help her get home.

He ate a few of the occasional Hollows that they ran across, and offered her some from time to time, which she impolitely turned down.

"Those things look as disgusting as they smell!"

"You will die of starvation if you do not consume something."

"I guess I'll die then."

Ulquiorra stopped in front of her. Her heart jumped as he stood a foot from her face. When had she started noticing his handsome features that carved his face? When did she start getting nervous and excited around him? When had he touched her heart like no other, even Ichigo? She didn't know but she couldn't let that feeling go.

"I don't want you to die of anything," Ulquiorra began in a voice so low and deep, he was almost whispering. "I am here with you to protect you and keep you alive, and I will not accept anything other than your compliance with my demand that you at least try to stay alive."

Orihime swallowed as his face inched closer to hers with every word, until she could feel his breath upon her lips. She didn't want to move and anger him, or kiss him and anger him further, so she stood rooted, waiting for him to move. Her eyes darted to his lips, and then back up to his face, which decided to close the tiny gap with a soft kiss.

Orihime didn't know how to react as his hands slowly rose up her back, barely touching her, and his tail began to whip side to side excitedly. She kissed him back, bringing her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.

Then he broke away. Orihime let him go immediately, hoping she didn't step over their fragile line.

"Let's continue," Ulquiorra said, continuing on. She nodded and followed, like nothing happened.

* * *

_Knock, knock, knock! _"Woman, are you joining us for breakfast?"Ulquiorra's voice sounded from the other side of the door.

Orihime shot up and looked at the time. _Shit I'm late!_

She jumped out of bed and into her bathroom to freshen up. After she was finished, she opened her door, and found a hysterical Grimmjow and a very annoyed Ulquiorra. Her face turned red as she looked at Ulquiorra, so she hurriedly walked past them to get to the dining room. _Where the hell did _that _dream come from?!_

"Are you guys coming or not?" Orihime called back to them as they just stood at her door.

At the dining table, as soon as Orihime had walked in, there was a round of applause.

"About time!"

"She's actually here!"

"So you've finally decided to come out of the dark, huh?"

Orihime didn't even realize that the group liked her enough to miss her at breakfast. She smiled as she sat in her usual seat. She hadn't caught up on what was going on around the mansion so she quietly listened to the buzz around her.

"Ulquiorra, pass the biscuits!" Grimmjow called across the table.

Ulquiorra passed the biscuits to Nnoitra, who spit on it before passing it to Grimmjow.

"You ass!" Grimmjow started. Orihime chuckled. Every time there was a fight at breakfast, it always involved Grimmjow, Nnoitra, or on rare occasions, Ulquiorra.

"You cheated on our fight the other day!" Nnoitra spat back.

"No I didn't, you were too weak to defeat me!"

"I rank above you!"

"That doesn't mean shit!"

Nnoitra jumped across the table and began fighting Grimmjow. Orihime watched the fight with vague eyes, only thinking of if that kiss with Ulquiorra in the dream were a reality . . . She mentally slapped herself. She didn't like Ulquiorra like that. He was simply her business partner who looked after her, and protected her, and she simply stayed by his side. That's how it was supposed to be, right? Orihime shook her head; she had to get some air.

She got up from the table, not noticing Ulquiorra eying her as she left the dining room.

* * *

"Ms. Inoue and Mr. Schiffer; I need you two to be me at a meeting I have with a particular client. He's not a very . . . cooperative man, but I think you two can handle it. I won't send Grimmjow, because he will only make a mess of things, as seen at the breakfast table."

Orihime paused. How did he know about the fights? She began to think this man really earned his title.

"I have an appointment with Kazuma Hiroshima about a trade that I will be unable to attend. Do you think you can handle this simple task?"

Ulquiorra and Orihime nodded. "Good. I will text you the time and address. Good Night."

They nodded and left the room. As they walked through the hallway, Orihime's face began to turn red due to the fact that she was alone with Ulquiorra. Normally, it wouldn't mean anything other than awkward silence. But all she could think about was the dream.

"Woman, this is your second time being flustered. Is there a problem?"

Orihime shook her head and waved her hands. "No, no, no everything's fine! You're flustered! You're always flustered!" She sped walked off in the direction of her room and closed her door fast before Ulquiorra could say anything further.

Orihime leaned against her door with a sigh.


	14. Chapter 14

The Assassin: Chapter 14

**A/N: **Chapter fourteeeeen! I'm finally getting ahead with this, and I hope it stays that way.

R&R! =)

* * *

The next day, once again, Orihime found herself trapped with Ulquiorra in the tiny Volvo, with no sound to distract her from her thoughts. Orihime looked at Ulquiorra before turning on the radio.

-_I'm ready to make that turn_

_Before we both crash and burn_

'_Cause that would be the death of us, the death of us-_

Ulquiorra looked away from the road for a second to give Orihime an evil glare. Orihime smiled at the sound and began singing along, much to Ulquiorra's annoyance.

"Woman, would you please turn that trash off?" Ulquiorra stopped at a stop light. Orihime continued singing. He turned it off himself. Orihime stopped singing and looked at Ulquiorra as if he had lost his mind.

"What was that for?"

"You have been acting strange since yesterday morning. Why?"

Orihime thought of whether she should tell him or not. It would really make things awkward between them, and she didn't want that kind of relationship with him anyway.

"I had a strange dream, and it involved some members of Hogyoku." Once again it wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't the truth either. But it seemed to satisfy Ulquiorra as he didn't press the subject any further. Instead he turned the radio back on, but changed the station to a classical station. _Moonlight Sonata _swam through the car, and although Orihime never listened to classical music, she found this piece very emotional and relaxing. She looked at Ulquiorra as she would never have guessed that he enjoyed any kind of music.

* * *

An hour later they arrived to a very official-looking building that Orihime had never seen or heard of. Fasciones. Aizen had briefed them that it was another assassination organization that offered a partnership with Hogyoku. He gave them their orders on how they were to handle that situation.

They stood outside in the parking lot, making their way inside the building.

The lady at the reception looked up at them and smiled. She had bright turquoise-colored hair, and a red mark that went across her nose, right beneath her eyes. Her breasts and hips rivaled Orihime's as well.

"Hello, how may I assist you?" She looked at them both, but kept redirecting her attention to Ulquiorra, and his handsome features.

Orihime stepped in front with a smile, before Ulquiorra could say anything. "We're here for an appointment with Mr. Hiroshima."

The lady looked down at her books with a frown. Then she looked back up at Ulquiorra. "Mr. Aizen?" Then she glanced at his companion. "She isn't on the list for the appointment." She gave Orihime an apologetic smile.

"We are substituting for Lord Aizen, since he was unable to attend the meeting," Ulquiorra excused Orihime. "I am Ulquiorra Schiffer, and this woman is my partner Orihime Inoue."

Orihime couldn't help but smile at the fact that he was defending her, and that he actually said her name. She was so used to him referring to her as the woman.

"You're legendary around here at Fasciones, Mr. Schiffer. Your assassination abilities are myths that we tell our children as bedtime stories," the woman explained. "I'd watch my back around here if I were you. My name is Neliel Odelschwank." She extended a hand for Ulquiorra to shake, which he made no move to.

"Where is Mr. Hiroshima? That is my only concern."

Neliel took her hand back with a smile and flipped open her book and gave Ulquiorra a card with Hiroshima's office number on it.

"Thank you," Ulquiorra and Orihime said in unison. Neliel nodded and returned to her desk to finish whatever she was doing as Ulquiorra and Orihime headed to the elevator. Orihime felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

When they stepped onto the elevator, Orihime found herself annoyed with the elevator and its music. She began tapping her foot as Ulquiorra pressed the five on the elevator panel.

They rode in silence as usual.

"So . . . why can't Aizen come here and do this on his own," Orihime asked Ulquiorra. "I mean, he never does anything; why do we have to do it for him?"

She didn't really expect an answer, so she was surprised when he sighed and faced her.

"He does not simply do nothing," he stated, "if he did, then he wouldn't be as respected, nor would he have so many followers. Including myself."

Orihime raised an eyebrow, but said nothing else on the subject. She understood that Aizen may have been like a father figure to Ulquiorra so she didn't press the subject. She was relieved however, when the elevator doors opened. She was wary of men outside waiting for them to get off so that they could strip them of their weapons, but there was no one.

Ulquiorra stepped off and made a right and went all the way down the hallway until he reached Door number 4. Orihime looked at Ulquiorra cautiously. 4 was a very unlucky number, and while some called it superstition, Orihime always thought it meant bad luck. But little did she know that it happened to be Ulquiorra's favorite number, and it was his rank.

Ulquiorra raised a firm hand and knocked on the door, a little harder than how he usually knocked on her door.

"You may enter."

Orihime and Ulquiorra walked on a man who looked in his mid-thirties, with black hair and a fit build, seated in a chair behind a mahogany desk. The room had a comfortable setting with all its mahogany furniture and black animal fur carpet. Orihime almost didn't want to walk on it. In all four corners of the room were four guards that were heavily armed. She didn't feel intimidated in the least.

"Ah, Sosuke couldn't make it?" Hiroshima asked the pair with a truly concerned look on his face.

Orihime had decided that Ulquiorra do all the talking whenever they go on missions, simply for the fact that she didn't want to say something stupid, or something that could put them in danger.

"No, he sent my partner and I instead," Ulquiorra answered.

"Yeah, that guy always sends substitutes," Hiroshima said with a chuckle. Orihime began to think back at what Aizen said about him not being cooperative, and really didn't see how. But she kept her guard up just in case. "You look familiar . . ." He began snapping his fingers trying to guess "Ulquiorra Schiffer! Am I right?"

Ulquiorra nodded in acknowledgement, but said nothing further.

"You know, you are quite the inspiration around here," Hiroshima explained, taking a sip from some clear substance on his desk – probably wine. "Why don't you two take a seat?"

Orihime looked at Ulquiorra, who nodded, and they both took a seat in the very comfortable sofa across from his desk.

"Oh, knock it off with the formalities," Hiroshima laughed, "Let's be friends, and let business come later."

Orihime gave the man a warm smile, though she was still very guarded. He looked at her with interest.

"Mr. Schiffer, you have a very lovely partner. May I ask your name?"

"Orihime Inoue," Orihime responded, slightly uncomfortable at the attention he was giving her. It reminded her too much of how her father talked to her, even if it wasn't Hiroshima's intentions.

"Well Ms. Inoue, Mr. Schiffer is very lucky to have you as a partner," he complimented her. "And I have no doubt that your skills are as sharp as you are, am I wrong, Mr. Schiffer?"

"No."

"And you are just as they say you are: cold and mysterious. I bet Ms. Inoue has unlocked all of your secrets, hasn't she?"

Orihime flushed at his comment, her thoughts fluttering immediately back to the dream that she had tried so hard to forget.

"We are here to discuss business, not our relationship," Ulquiorra stated, already sensing where the conversation was going.

The man looked at the two for a moment before sitting back and taking another sip from his glass.

"Very well," He started, placing his glass back onto the desk. "I am sure you are aware of what I am asking of Sosuke?"

Ulquiorra and Orihime nodded.

"Then you have his answer?"

Ulquiorra cleared his throat before giving his answer. "He kindly refused your offer."

Hiroshima sat with his smile frozen on his face. Then he looked down and let out a confused chuckle. "Does he understand that this is very beneficial to him? That if our companies actually combined, that his own army would be expanded and more powerful than ever, and-"

"Lord Aizen is very aware of the pros and cons of your offer; however he said your services are unnecessary, and he sends his regards."

Hiroshima's smile disappeared altogether. Orihime now saw what Aizen was talking about.

"Well, that's not all I wanted Mr. Schiffer."

Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow. Something didn't feel right. Orihime didn't like it, and when she had a hunch, she was never wrong. She had her trigger finger ready to reach for her gun.

"What is it?" Ulquiorra asked, blankly, and uninterestedly.

Hiroshima's smile returned. "I want you, personally to join me. I like your style, and my organization can give you anything you want – anything! You would be on top of almost everything. I think Sosuke abuses you by making you go out and do his dirty work while he sits on his ass all day. Wouldn't you rather be the one calling the shots?"

There was silence. Orihime prayed that he wasn't even thinking about switching forces.

"I knew Sosuke would never come to the meeting on his own, and I was really hoping he sent you, and to my luck he did. The woman could come to if she wished." Orihime shot the man a dirty look at being referred to as 'woman'.

Ulquiorra closed his eyes for a moment, and then looked back up at the man. "You are mistaken if you think I would ever consider joining you. I enjoy my job and everything included: traveling far distances, dealing with the trash I have as housemates, taking Lord Aizen's orders, even having the woman as my partner. My desires lie with Aizen for as long as I live."

Orihime was thoroughly surprised and pleased that he enjoyed having her as a partner, and that he really did care about those things. She never in her mind thought of how Ulquiorra felt about anything, or even that the man had feelings at all. Her guard was down completely.

Ulquiorra stood, Orihime following, and headed for the door. "And the woman has a name." Orihime smiled. He didn't even want anyone else calling her 'woman'.

It was only at that moment that Orihime wished she had saved her questions, and surprise for after the meeting. It was at that moment that she wished she had kept her guard up the whole time. It was at that moment that she wished she could turn back the hands of time and fix her mistake.

She heard the gun shot. She knew Ulquiorra would expect the man to try and shoot him in the back. But she didn't expect the man to try and shoot _her _in the back. But Ulquiorra did. He always expected those things.

Ulquiorra pushed Orihime away just as Hiroshima fired his gun, and shot Ulquiorra dead in his chest. The bullet that was meant for her. Orihime whipped around with her pistol, and with accurate precision shot every man in the corners, then aimed her gun at Hiroshima, whose gun happened to be empty.

"That last bullet was meant for Sosuke, just in case he did show up," Hiroshima chuckled, raising his hands above his head. "Go ahead and kill me; I've done what was asked of me."

Orihime thought about that. So he was sent to either kill Sosuke, or get Ulquiorra on his side? Who was the one giving him his orders? Orihime didn't want to kill the man, but she needed to hurry and do something before Ulquiorra died. So she shot the man in his groin, and blocked his screams from her ears as she turned her attention to Ulquiorra.

"Ulquiorra, I'm so sorry! I should have been paying attention!" Orihime opened his jacket which revealed that he had the number four tattooed to his chest, right beside where the bullet punctured, barely missing his heart. "Come on, stay with me!"

Neliel burst into the door, and found the guards dead, and her boss on the floor screaming in pain. Orihime picked her gun back up and aimed it at her.

"No, no wait! I'm on your side!" Neliel raised her hands. "I can explain everything, but first we need to save Ulquiorra." Orihime didn't trust her, but she was the closest thing to help that she was going to get.

* * *

**A/N:**

Aww, poor Ulquiorra. Orihime's never going to live this one down.

I do not own the song. It is Honeymoon Avenue by Ariana Grande.

Byeee! =)


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